Summer of Love
by Lowrider
Summary: Another summer, another 104 days of freedom, but this summer promises to be one no one in the neighborhood will ever forget.  Full couple listing in my profile.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It is summertime once again in Danville, and that means one hundred and four days of freedom for kids of all ages. For Phineas Flynn, Ferb Fletcher, and their friends, this particular summer promises to be one for the history books. The gang has just completed their freshman year of high school, and it's a whole new ball game they're facing now.

Romance has flourished among the group over the past year. Phineas and his longtime friend and neighbor from across the street, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, got the ball rolling by getting together at his fifteenth birthday, which was before the school year. Shortly after the school year began, and after resolving his old feelings for Vanessa, Ferb got together with Isabella's best friend Gretchen. A little further into the year, and with ample help from his friends, Baljeet finally learned of the years-long crush Ginger had on him and they too became a couple. Romance even found its way to Buford as he began dating Milly, who'd taken a liking to him ever since watching him play during the football season.

All of these teenage romances, however, paled in comparison to what happened during Christmas that year. Jeremy Johnson, Candace's longtime boyfriend, proposed to her on Christmas Day, and a wedding date was quickly set for late August of the following year. As time ticks down, Candace is busily trying to make final preparations for the wedding while also helping her parents mind her brothers for the summer. Long since over her former burning desire to bust her brothers for their logic-defying antics, Candace now does her best to give the boys guidance as they face situations and feelings that - while being totally new to them - she is all too familiar with.

It's now early June, just over two months from Candace's wedding, and the Summer of Love is about to get underway with, of all things, an intimate get-together.


	2. It's a Really Intimate Get Together

**It's a Really Intimate Get-Together**

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Isa," Vivian asked her daughter as she loaded her suitcase into the trunk of the taxi.

"For the hundred and fiftieth time, mom, yes," Isabella told her. "_Abuela_ needs you right now way more than I do, and you won't feel right until you go see her. Besides, you're only going to be gone for the weekend."

"I know you're right, sweetheart, I just don't want you to get lonely while I'm out of town."

"Well I was thinking of inviting the girls over to hang out tomorrow. Just Gretchen and Ginger."

"Or you could just invite _mi yerno_ instead," Vivian said in a playfully suggestive manner. "You'd have the whole house to yourself, after all…"

"Mom," Isabella said with alarm, her face blushing furiously. Her mother had, in recent months, begun referring to Phineas in Spanish as her son-in-law; partly because it always got a rise out of her and partly because her mother knew how much she and Phineas cared about each other. "Don't joke with me like that! Phineas and I are still kids, for crying out loud!"

Vivian laughed heartily at her daughter's reaction. "Alright, dear. But seriously, don't worry about spending time with Phineas while I'm gone. You are a smart, sharp, beautiful young woman, Isa, and I trust you."

"Thanks, mom," Isabella said, hugging her mom tightly before she left for her taxi. "Have a safe flight! And don't worry, I won't trash the place!"

Isabella stood near the curb and waved while she watched the taxi head off towards the airport. Once it was out of sight, she turned and walked back into her house, flopped down onto the sofa across from the TV in the living room, and grabbed her cell phone from the table. She hit her second speed dial and waited for a pickup. She didn't have to wait long, as Gretchen was always quick to answer.

"Hey Izzie, what's up," Gretchen asked.

"You don't work this weekend, do you," Isabella asked in return.

"Nope. Mr. Johnson set me up with weekday hours at Mr. Slushy Dawg for the summer, thankfully. I've got weekends to do whatever I like."

"Awesome! Wanna come sleep over at my place for the weekend? Mom's out of town to go visit grandma. She hasn't been feeling too well recently."

"I'll check with my folks, but I'm definitely up for that. Anyone else coming?"

"You were my first call. I'm gonna hit up Ginger next."

"Good luck getting on her schedule," Gretchen said with a laugh. "Want me to poke anyone else?"

"Nah, I'm shooting for just the three of us. You know, just our own little intimate get-together."

"Gotcha. I'll get things in order over here and be over in a bit."

"Sweet! See you soon!"

Isabella ended the call and then hit her fifth speed dial to contact Ginger. Again, she didn't have long to wait.

"Hi Isabella," Ginger said hurriedly. "Hold on a sec. _Deteikinasai, kono baka onee-san!_"

"_Che, tsumnannai. Isabella ni yoroshiku tsutaete na_," another voice said in the background.

The sound of a slamming door came next, jolting Isabella slightly.

"Sorry about that," Ginger apologized. "Stacy's home for the summer and every flipping time my phone rings she thinks it's Baljeet and comes to harass me. It's driving me batty and summer vacation only just started!"

"Well how about I give you a chance to get away from her for the weekend? Wanna come for a sleepover? My mom's out of town and Gretchen's already in."

"You are a lifesaver. I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Excellent! Oh, and try to keep this quiet. It's just an intimate get-together for us three."

"Roger that, captain! Over and out!"

Isabella giggled as she ended the call with Ginger. She celebrated going two-for-two on her invites and set off to the kitchen to get some snacks together for when the girls arrived.

* * *

Phineas sulked in the backseat of Candace's car, grumbling mentally to himself as they made their way to Googolplex Mall. He looked at Ferb sitting next to him, who didn't seem nearly as put out as he was. He sat back up again and thrust his head into the front half of the car, looking over at Candace as she drove.

"I could totally have had this done for myself and Ferb from home," he told her. "We have the tools and the capability to build something to help us do it and you know it. But noooo, we have to waste our time going to the stupid mall."

"You know the more you complain the longer this is going to seem to take," Candace replied without taking her eyes off the road. "And we've been over this, Phineas. Whose wedding is this?"

Phineas sat back down, sulking again. "Yours."

"And who gets final say in how things play out?"

"You do."

"And what did I tell you both the morning after Jeremy proposed to me?"

"No invention interventions for the wedding."

"Exactly. This is going to be as normal a wedding as I can manage to have. It won't kill you guys to humor me for one day, will it?"

"But you deserve the most awesome wedding known to man, Candace! And we could-"

"That's not the point, Phineas," she said, cutting him off. She came to a red light and quickly turned around in her seat to look at him. "I don't want 'the most awesome wedding known to man', I want **my** wedding. When it's your turn, by all means, go nuts, but for just this once listen to and humor your big sister. Please?"

The pleading look in his sister's eyes melted Phineas' resolve. "Can we at least do something for the reception?"

Candace thought for a moment and then smiled a little at him. "I wouldn't mind an ice sculpture like what you guys did for Auntie T."

"It'll be way, way better than that one," Phineas said, grinning once again.

"Alright. But for now let's just get to the mall and get you guys sized for tuxes. You've both gotta look sharp if you're going to be groomsmen for this."

"Look on the bright side, Phineas," Ferb told him. "I'll bet Isabella is dying to know what you look like in a tuxedo."

"This is true," Phineas said, now finding new interest in dressing up. "I'd better make sure my Spanish stays sharp for that evening then."

"Please do not use my wedding reception as a backdrop for a makeout session," Candace said resolutely as they neared the mall. "That goes for both of you."

"Aww…" both boys said in a mock-disappointed tone in unison.

The fitting for tuxedos was uneventful and it wasn't long before the three were heading back to the car. As they walked, however, a familiar voice called out to Candace from behind. She stopped, turned in its direction, and had just enough time to brace herself as Jenny all but tackled her with a hug. The two went completely giddy as they reunited. Phineas and Ferb stopped and just hung back as the two longtime friends got to talking.

"Ohmigod, Jenny, I've missed you," Candace said, stepping back to look her friend over. Her sense of style hadn't changed much since high school; she was still very much the picture of a flower child. The two hadn't seen each other for almost a year, though, since they both had been at college when Candace called her to see about getting her to be a bridesmaid.

"You're looking like you're doing well too, Candace," Jenny told her. "You've got this aura of happiness about you…it's almost blinding, really."

"Heh, I'll take your word for it. What brings you here, though? I thought you usually weren't one for major commercial centers."

"We came to do some impromptu shopping. Mainly clothes."

"We? You're here with someone?"

Jenny looked around for a moment, suddenly confused. "Well I was. But then I saw you and took off running after you. He must still be catching up."

The Flynn-Fletecher siblings all looked at each other in confusion, wondering who Jenny could have come to the mall with. They were answered when a teenage boy with messy brown hair and dressed in a faded yellow t-shirt, gray cargo shorts, and flip flops ran up. He stopped to catch his breath and looked at Jenny somewhat irritated.

"Next time, don't run off when I'm looking around in a store, sis," he said while panting. "I ran around half this stupid place trying to find you!"

Phineas was suddenly delighted. "Django! I didn't know you were back in town, dude!"

Django smiled and hugged Phineas and Ferb in turn. "Good to see you both too. Yeah, I'm back in Danville for the summer. Dad said since Jenny's gonna be around here for the wedding I could crash with her."

"I've got a place we're living in for the summer here," Jenny added. "We couldn't justify the cost of hotel rooms for the whole time, and I wanted to be here for Candace so we found a cheap apartment. It's not much, but it's clean and in a decent enough part of town."

"We go back to Cali at the end of summer, though," Django said to the boys. "It's home for us now, after all."

"This summer just got a million and six times better," Phineas told Ferb quickly before turning back to Django. "You've gotta tell us all about the West Coast, dude."

"So long as you guys fill me in on what's been happening here," Django told him. He looked over at Jenny then. "Sis, I'm gonna hang with P&F for a while if you don't mind."

"All cool with me, bro," Jenny told him. "Call me when you wanna do your shopping. Candace and I'll go catch up some more on our own too."

The two girlfriends walked off and began chattering away as the boys headed for the one place they knew they could relax: the food court.

"So…either of you got a girlfriend yet," Django asked with a smirk on his face as they walked.

"As a matter of fact, we both do," Ferb told him.

"No way," Django said, going wide eyed from shock. He stared for a long moment at Phineas and then looked back at Ferb. "Isabella must be furious."

"Django, it **is** Isabella," Phineas told him, not appreciating either the joke or the subsequent raucous laughter now coming from both of them.

"Sorry, man, I had to," Django told him after he finally stopped laughing. "That's awesome, though. So who're you seein', Ferb?"

"Gretchen Adler," Ferb said, smiling as he thought of her. "We've been together since just after Freshman year started."

"And Baljeet got together with Ginger Hirano too," Phineas added. "I think I even heard something about Buford hooking up with someone towards the end of the year, too."

"Milly Anderson," Ferb told him. "Gretchen confirmed that for me a couple weeks ago. Apparently they're quite happy together, or at least so I'm told."

"Man, everyone's hooked up now," Django said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What about you," Phineas asked. "San Francisco's gotta be chock full of girls."

"Oh yeah," Django said sarcastically. "Half of them are lesbians, or at least claim to be. Most of the rest who aren't already spoken for are total fluff chicks. And they're all so thin I can count their ribs when they inhale, which isn't exactly attractive. At this point I think I've been hit on by guys out there more often than I've had dates with girls. And I do not swing that way."

"Oof," Phineas said, wincing at the thought. "My sympathies, man."

Django shrugged at him. "At least I can surf and draw to my heart's content out there. School's okay, but it's not the same without guys like the two of you around."

"Well feel free to hang with us as much as you like this summer, man," Phineas told him. "We're glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back," Django replied, smiling. "Now let's get some food. I'm starvin'."

Phineas and Ferb echoed the sentiment and the three picked up their pace so as to reach the food court faster and attempt once again to quell the voracious beast known as the teenage male stomach.

* * *

Things definitely felt more comfortable at home to Isabella with Gretchen and Ginger now over for the weekend. Comfortable, and yet it hadn't taken the three of them long to become exceedingly bored. All three were in Isabella's room trying to brainstorm something to do that day.

"We could always marathon some movies," Gretchen said.

"And waste such beautiful weather," Isabella said, looking outside. "No way. Maybe we could go poolside and work on getting a nice tan."

"I don't really need help there," Ginger noted, looking at her skin.

"I just burn anyway," Gretchen added.

"Man, I can't stand this," Isabella said in disgust as she fell back onto her bed. "I wish Phineas and Ferb were home."

"Where'd they go, anyway," Gretchen asked.

"I have no idea," Isabella replied. "I saw them get in Candace's car earlier, but I have no idea where they went."

"Maybe give 'em a call and find out when they'll be back," Ginger said. "I could call Baljeet too and see if he wants to come over."

Isabella considered the idea. On the one hand, she didn't want too many people over for fear of things getting out of hand. On the other hand, it was just their boyfriends they would be inviting over. And even doubling the number of people there it would still be small enough to be a nice intimate get-together. Unfortunately for her, by the time she decided it was worth doing, Gretchen was already on her phone calling Ferb.

"Hey sweetie," Gretchen said to Ferb on her phone. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Uh, excuse me," Isabella said, looking at Gretchen slightly annoyed. Gretchen rolled her eyes and waved her friend off.

"Ah, that explains that then," Gretchen said, continuing her conversation with him. "We're all hanging over at Izzie's. You guys wanna come by later and we can all chill out together? Fantastic! See you then!"

Gretchen hung up and looked over at Isabella. "They went to the mall to get sized for tuxes for Candace's wedding. They'll be back in about an hour or so, and they'll come right on over."

"Tuxes," Isabella repeated. Her mind instantly drifted to thinking of Phineas and how dashing he'd look in such formal wear. While she daydreamed, Gretchen silently urged Ginger to take her turn to call Baljeet.

"Hey there, baby," Ginger said to Baljeet on her phone once he picked up. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Hey," Isabella said indignantly as she snapped out of her daydream. "Knock it off, guys!"

Gretchen laughed out loud as Isabella began assaulting her with a pillow while Ginger continued her phone call to her boyfriend.

"You don't have classes tonight, right? Great. The girls and I are over at Isabella's house for the weekend, and Phineas and Ferb are coming by later. You wanna come over too? Excellent. I'll see you then, lover boy."

Ginger blew a kiss to him over the phone before ending the call. "He'll be over around the same time as Phineas and Ferb."

"Cool," Gretchen replied. "That should definitely liven things up some more. But what should we do until then?"

"I still like the idea of chilling out by the pool," Isabella said as she walked to her closet. "I'm gonna change into a swimsuit and catch some rays."

"I guess I'll join you," Ginger added. "I did bring a couple swimsuits, and I'd rather not be cooped up inside all day."

Both girls then looked at Gretchen, who was looking flustered at the idea of pool time.

"Come on, guys," she pleaded. "You know I'm self-conscious about wearing swimsuits!"

"Are you really gonna sit inside the whole time," Isabella asked her. "Come on, it's just the guys coming over after all. Besides, I'm sure Ferb would appreciate seeing you in one."

Gretchen saw both Isabella and Ginger looking at her pleadingly and begrudgingly opened her bag and fished out the swimsuit she'd brought.

"Alright, I'm coming too," she said. An idea suddenly occurred to her, then; a mischievous, devilish, yet irresistibly fun idea.

She slowly and dramatically stretched her arms over her head. It had the intended effect of sticking her chest - which was far more ample than either Ginger's or Isabella's - out in an exaggerated manner. Ginger and Isabella looked at her with mild annoyance as she winked and smirked at both girls.

"Besides, it wouldn't be right for Ferb to have nothing to look at when he gets here," she told them proudly.

"Oh," Isabella said slowly as she rose to her feet and put her hand on her hip. She quickly realized Gretchen was having fun with them, and she decided to simply run with it. "You wanna make a competition out of it? I'm willing to bet I could give you a run for your money, honey. I've made a hobby out of knowing what Phineas likes, after all."

"Well that's all well and good," Ginger added as she gracefully stood up and posed as if she were a gymnast completing a floor routine. "But while you two are competing, I'll be clearly giving my man what he really wants to see."

All three of the girls eyed each other and then put their hands together, with Isabella's hand on top of Gretchen's which was on top of Ginger's.

"The winner is whoever gets the biggest reaction out of their boyfriend," Isabella said. "No cheap tactics, though. Winner gets bragging rights. And this is all in good fun. You guys are too important to me for this to be anything serious."

"Absolutely," Gretchen added. "We're gonna kick this summer vacation off with something the guys will never forget."

"This is crazy, but at the same time it's gonna be fun," Ginger chimed in. "And I can't think of two more worthy competitors to be going up against."

"Well said, Ginger," Isabella added, her face then taking on a more cunning look. "All pleasantries set aside, you guys are going down."

"Oh I'll be going down," Ginger said confidently. "Going down in the history books as the one who put you both to shame."

"The only shame to be had will be on both of your parts when I knock Ferb's socks off," Gretchen told them both, smiling suggestively.

The three girls broke their huddle and Ginger and Gretchen quickly rushed off to separate parts of the house to make their own preparations. Isabella closed her door and drew the shades of her window. She was perfectly intent on giving Phineas a show at the pool that he would never, ever forget.

* * *

"You're sure it's cool for me to hang here," Django asked as he sat on the sofa in the Flynn-Fletcher home. "I don't wanna impose."

"Dude, you're about the least imposing person we know," Phineas told him. "Besides, Candace and Jenny are just upstairs going through old photos and stuff so you won't be alone here."

"You could still come over with us," Ferb said as he tied his shoes. "I'm sure the girls would be happy to see you again."

"Yeah, I stand by my earlier comments," Django said as he slid down the couch to lie down, folding his hands behind his head. "Something about tagging along with three guys who're going to see their girlfriends screams 'third wheel' to me."

"Suit yourself. We'll probably be back soon enough," Phineas told him as he and Ferb headed for the door. "But if we're not back in an hour, call for a search party."

"If you're not back in an hour, I'm calling for a pizza," Django replied as he closed his eyes for a nap.

Phineas and Ferb weren't even halfway down their driveway when they spotted Baljeet waiting at the end of the sidewalk leading up to Isabella's house. He simply stood looking around, hands in his pockets as he waited. Clearly he didn't want to head in alone.

"Hey 'Jeet, what up," Phineas called out as he and Ferb crossed the street.

"_Namaste_, compadres," Baljeet said, waving back to them. "How's the summer break treating you so far?"

"Pretty awesomely. We went to get sized for tuxes for Candace's wedding, and ran into Django! He's back in town for the summer!"

"Now that _is_ some good news. It'll be fun having everyone back together again. So…what's the nature of this gathering here at Isabella's?"

"Dunno. Ferb got the call from Gretchen while we were at the food court earlier, but she just said to come over to hang out."

"That's pretty much what Ginger told me too."

"Well standing around out here isn't going to answer these questions," Ferb said as he stepped past both of them and headed towards the house. Phineas and Baljeet quickly followed, both of them curious about what awaited them.

The front door was unlocked, but upon entering the boys didn't see anyone around. A quick sweep of the main floor confirmed no one was inside.

"I don't get it," Baljeet said as he leaned on the island in the kitchen. "Why would they invite us over and then not be here?"

"Wait, do you hear that," Phineas asked as he cupped his hand by his ear. He heard music faintly coming from the backyard. "Maybe they're out back by the pool. You guys wait here; I'll go check it out."

Phineas made his way through Isabella's house to the sliding door that led to the backyard. Her house had always had a pool in the back, but over the past few years more things had been added to make it even more enjoyable for guests and parties. A bar was set up on the far side of the pool, and a raised patio had been added just off of the kitchen that overlooked the pool. There was also a fairly sophisticated sound system that Phineas and Ferb had helped install and set up, and sure enough it was filling the air with music. There still wasn't any immediate sign of any of the girls, however, which further mystified Phineas.

"Isabella," he called out as he walked around the pool. "You here? Anyone?"

Just as he passed by the bar, Phineas felt a hand touch his shoulder gently. He smiled, turned around, and froze in place. Isabella stood before him in a white string bikini with a white, floral sarong around her waist that was tied at her right hip. She also had a white lily tucked into the left side of her hair and wore white sandals. She smiled seductively as she stepped up to Phineas, whose heart rate had suddenly become quite a bit more rapid.

"_Buenas tardes, mi am_or," she said, affecting her voice with a sultry Mexican accent. "_Qué están haciendo?_"

"Whoa," Phineas said, taking a step backwards as he looked her over again. "Wow. Isabella, you…I…uh…oh man…"

"_Te gusta lo que ves_," she asked with a smile, continuing to saunter towards him as he staggered backwards.

Phineas did his best to force his brain to translate her Spanish, but his level of distraction was incredibly high. "Oh yeah…I mean, uh…_Si, eres muy hermosa._"

Phineas immediately realized his mistake and cursed himself for it. Now it was Isabella's turn to freeze in place. She hadn't counted on Phineas having the wherewithal to draw on his still limited Spanish skills. She found the sound of his voice speaking the language to be incredibly romantic, and as such it always had a profound effect on her. Phineas saw the look in her eyes shift like it always did when he spoke Spanish to her and backed up a few more steps cautiously. Isabella suddenly moved to close the distance between them, which again prompted Phineas to back up more.

In retrospect, he should've watched where he was backing up to, as the encounter ended not with a passionate kiss from his girlfriend, but with him taking an unintended dip into her pool.

* * *

Just as Phineas left to investigate the music, Baljeet heard a sound very familiar to him ring out through the house. It was the chime from a bell that he knew was one Ginger used for meditation purposes, and it sounded like it was coming from the patio.

"Ah, Ginger must've brought her meditation supplies for the weekend," Baljeet said. "I'll go check on her."

"Suit yourself," Ferb told him. "I'll just stay here until one of you figures out what's going on."

The patio was just off of the kitchen, so instead of going the same was Phineas had Baljeet headed through there to reach it. He slid the door to it open, stepped outside, walked up the steps to the top of it, and suddenly found out exactly how wide his eyes could open. Ginger sat across the way, breathing evenly as she sat in a Lotus position with her hands cupped together in front of her. The position wasn't what was so provocative, however; it was the fact that she was only wearing a black one piece swimsuit that was cut high around her thighs and hugged her slender figure enough that it showed off even the slightest of curves to her body.

"Hello my dearest," she said quietly, slowly opening her eyes to see him. "I've so been looking forward to seeing you today."

Sounds were coming from Baljeet's mouth, but they failed to form any coherent thoughts as he watched her unfold her legs carefully and deliberately before standing up. He'd always found her legs to be her most attractive physical quality, and clearly she knew that quite well.

"Oh darn," she said, crouching down to touch her right calf gently. "I think I've got a bit of a stiff muscle here. You're so good at helping me work these out, Baljeet, would you mind?"

"E-e-e-e-excuse me for just a moment," he said, turning back to the stairs. His intent was to go and quickly make sure his hands were clean at the bathroom inside. Instead, he missed the first step of the patio and quickly was re-introduced to the effect gravity has on a falling body.

* * *

"Suit yourself," Ferb told Baljeet. "I'll just stay here until one of you figures out what's going on."

As Baljeet headed for the kitchen, Ferb took a seat in the living room in a chair to relax. He wasn't seated but a moment when he felt a pair of hands touch his shoulders just at the base of his neck. As he felt them gently squeeze his muscles, he instantly knew it was Gretchen. She'd given him many neck rubs during their time together and she always started them the same way. He closed his eyes and rolled his head back a bit to rest on a pair of pillows. He then opened his eyes again. He didn't recall there being pillows atop that particular chair when he first sat down in it. He put a hand on hers to stop her actions for a moment as he sat up and turned around. He then fell forwards out of the chair onto the floor.

Gretchen stood behind the chair wearing a wine-colored one piece swimsuit with a deep neckline. The combination of that and the form fitting nature of the suit did nothing but emphasize her fairly ample chest. She stepped around the chair and smiled at Ferb as he got an eyeful of her figure, which she'd gotten him to admit on more than one occasion he was quite the fan of.

"Sweetie, you're all tense," she told him mischievously. "I could feel it in your shoulders just now. Come have a seat and let me work that out some more for you."

"Er, that's…alright," Ferb managed to stammer out. "Really. I'm quite fine. So are you. How! How…are you, that's what I meant to say. Yes."

Gretchen giggled briefly and bent over as she extended a hand to him, showing off even more cleavage than she already was. "Need a hand up?"

Ferb scrambled backwards slightly, his heart now racing. Fortunately for him, Gretchen stopped and looked up as they both heard the sounds of a splash coming from the pool and a muffled scream coming from the patio. Ferb took the opportunity to attempt to get up, only for his head to connect with the coffee table that sat in front of the couch as he turned around. He dropped back to the floor, seeing stars as he felt Gretchen quickly move to his side to attend to him.

* * *

Five minutes later, all six teenagers were assembled poolside. The girls, now all wearing bathrobes to cover themselves up, were a mixture of embarrassed and dejected as they looked over their boyfriends. Phineas was wrapped in towels with his sopping wet clothes in a pile next to him where he sat. Baljeet was hunched over forward with wads of tissue sticking out from his nose as he'd smashed it after falling off the patio. Ferb sat back with an ice pack on his head over the forming bruise from where he'd crocked it on the coffee table.

"We really can't tell you how sorry we are about how this all turned out, guys," Isabella said as spokesperson for the girls. "We just each wanted to do something nice for you all and we made a tiny competition out of it. We never intended to freak you out or anything, and we certainly didn't mean for all these accidents to happen."

"Hey, accidents happen," Phineas said as he adjusted his towels again to make sure he was still fully covered. "At least nothing seriously bad happened to anyone, right guys?"

"Agreed," Baljeet said, sounding nasal since both his nostrils were plugged currently. "This was, if nothing else, quite a memorable way to kick off the summer."

"Memorable in all the wrong ways," Ginger added sadly. Baljeet stood up and hugged her with a smile.

"It'll give us a laugh down the road at least," he told her. Ginger considered the thought for a moment and eventually nodded, but still felt horrible for what had become of the boys.

"I guess it was a good thing Django didn't come over with us then," Ferb said, slowly sitting up. His head still spun a bit, but Gretchen was immediately at his side to stabilize him. "That could've complicated matters even more."

"Django," Isabella said, repeating the name. "Django Brown? He's back?"

Phineas nodded at her. "Since Jenny's in town for Candace's wedding later this summer, he was about to come with her. They'll be around all summer. He's chilling out at our house right now while Jenny and Candace catch up with each other."

"We should throw a welcome back party for him," Isabella suggested. "We'll invite a bunch of people over so everyone can catch up with him again."

Phineas smiled at her as he folded his arms across his chest. "I was gonna bring that idea up myself when we came over. You must be working on your telepathy again."

"Well that solves the problem of figuring out what we'll spend the rest of the day doing," Gretchen said, finally smiling a little again. "At least once you guys are up to planning and discussing stuff."

Ferb took her hand in his and squeezed it. He smiled warmly at her as she looked down at him.

"I've taken far worse bumps than this," he assured her. "And at least there was a good reason for this one. You really blew me away, there, love."

"Ferb has a good point," Baljeet said, looking at Ginger. "This is nothing compared to what Buford used to do to me, and he's certainly nowhere near as appealing to me as you are, Ginger."

Isabella smiled as the other two couples got a little cozier with each other and then looked at Phineas, who was blushing madly.

"All I can say is it's kind of a good thing I took an unintentional dip to cool off," he told her. "I really don't know what might've happened next otherwise."

"I guess you'll just have to use your imagination for now," she told him playfully as she sat next to him. "And I know how good you are at that."

"If it's all the same by you, right now I'd rather imagine some dry clothes. Our neighbors may have seen a lot of weird stuff around our house of the years, but me crossing the street dressed in nothing but towels might just be a bit much."

Isabella laughed as she gathered up the mess of wet clothes next to him. "I'll toss these in the dryer for you. I think I'll also go change into some more normal clothing while I'm at it."

"I think I'll do the same," Gretchen added. Ginger also chimed in that she would follow suit, and the three girls took their leave of the boys who now all looked at each other.

"Well that was…interesting," Ferb said, putting his ice pack down. His head had finally gotten mostly back to normal.

"That's one word for it," Baljeet added as he removed the tissues from his nose. The bleeding had long since stopped. "I mean, no disrespect to Gretchen and Isabella, but Ginger…she's really got it going on."

"To each his own, I suppose," Ferb replied, shrugging at him. "Ginger and Isabella have their charms, I'm sure, but Gretchen is in a league all her own."

"Guys, trust me," Phineas said as he stood up, a towel securely tied around his waist. "Ginger and Gretchen may be easy on the eyes, but they really don't hold a candle to Isabella."

The boys stopped before the discussion went any further, looked at each other, and burst out laughing at themselves. This was without a doubt the most memorable start to a summer vacation they'd had yet.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Plans come together quickly for a "Welcome Home" party for Django, but there's one person for whom a reunion with him will turn into a clash of personalities.

* * *

**Translation notes for this chapter**

Ginger (to Stacy): "Get out you stupid sister!"  
Stacy (to Ginger): "Meh, how boring. Give my regards to Isabella."

Isabella (to Phineas at the pool, and in order of what she says to him):  
"Good afternoon, my love."  
"Whatcha doin'?" - As far as I can tell from my research this is the Spanish language version of Isabella's trademark line in the series. If I'm wrong here, though, **please** do let me know so I can change it.  
"Do you like what you see?"  
Phineas (to Isabella): "Yes, you look beautiful."


	3. Polar Opposites

**Polar Opposites**

Linda finished setting her Crock Pot up for dinner that night and then turned back to face her teenage sons, both of whom were still looking at her with wide smiles and pleading eyes. She folded her arms as she looked sternly at them.

"You know, I trusted your sister once when she was about your ages to not throw a crazy, wild party while your father and I were out," Linda told them. "Something about this feels like déjà vu all over again."

"But there's a difference here," Phineas said, clearly prepared to make his case. "That time, Candace wasn't planning on having a party in the first place that time. It just kinda happened and she lost control of things. We, on the other hand, are planning the party from the get-go. And we're not doing it alone."

"Ginger Hirano is organizing the guest list," Ferb added. "And Gretchen is going to talk to Jeremy about catering courtesy of Mr. Slushy Dawg, so there'll be no cooking to worry about."

"What about security," Linda asked as she sat on a stool by the breakfast nook. "How are you going to handle anyone who might get out of hand?"

"Buford and some of his buddies from the football team have already said they're cool with handling that," Phineas told her confidently. "And we're putting a hard cut-off time of nine 'o clock for the party. Once everyone's gone, Ferb and I will handle the cleanup ourselves."

Linda carefully considered the arguments the boys had put forth as she looked back and forth between them. They both, once again, smiled brightly at her and put their most pleading eyes on. Linda rubbed her forehead and sighed as she realized they weren't going to give up on this easily, if at all.

"Oh…alright," she said, finally conceding to them. "I can't help but have a bad feeling about this, but you boys have never given me reason to doubt you before."

Phineas and Ferb both ran up and hugged her tightly.

"You are the most awesome mom in the history of the universe," Phineas told her excitedly.

"Alright, alright, stop crushing me," Linda pleaded, lightly pushing the boys back. "But understand, boys: if I find anything out of place after this party is over, you're both going to be in really hot water."

"You won't have anything to worry about, mom," Ferb told her, smiling. "If anything, the house will be in even better shape after we're done."

"If you say so, honey. Just keep me in the loop about your plans and I'll make arrangements with your father so we won't be in your way," Linda told them.

"We will," Phineas said, nodding vigorously. "And really mom; thanks a ton."

After their mother bid them goodbye and left for the antique shop, Phineas and Ferb retreated to their room where they brought down their big screen and booted their network up. Moments after they came online, Ginger appeared on her webcam.

"Hey guys," she said cheerily with a wave. "How'd things go with your mom?"

"We're golden, Ginger," Phineas told her, still smiling widely. "How's the guest list coming?"

Ginger looked down at her clipboard as she spoke. "So far I haven't had anyone turn down an invitation. Some kids are unfortunately out of town on vacations, but there's not much we can do about that. Nonetheless, I'd say I'm about seventy-five percent through the list and about ninety percent of them have said they're coming."

"Wow. That's gonna be a lot of people. We'd better tell Gretchen to figure on a bigger order."

"I'm way ahead of you. I called her earlier when it started to look like the actual number for attendees was trending above what Baljeet had projected."

"Man, you **are** good."

"It's a gift. Any word from Isabella on decorations?"

"Nothing yet, but I'm sure we'll hear from her soon. Let us know when the guest list is all set, and make sure to copy Buford in on the final list. He'll need it for reference purposes when he's checking people at the gate."

"Will do. I'm gonna get back to contacting people. By the way, we're still keeping this secret from Django, right?"

"If at all possible, yes."

"Roger that. I'll let you know when the guest list is completed!"

Ginger stayed visible on-screen, but was visibly working diligently contacting people via e-mail and phone calls. A few minutes later, Isabella came on screen with a list in hand.

"Hey gang," she said without looking away from her list. "I've got palm trees, tiki masks and torches all lined up. Anything else?"

"Nope, that's everything," Phineas told her happily. "You're a gem as always, Izzie."

"Oh really," she replied, gazing into her camera with a dreamy look in her eyes. What kind of gem?"

"Don't say diamond, Phineas," Ginger said in a warning tone. "There are connotations that go with that stone that I'm pretty sure you don't want to convey just yet."

"Nah, I was gonna say sapphire," Phineas said, still looking at his girlfriend. "Y'know, to match those stunning eyes of hers."

Isabella sighed contentedly as she and Phineas made eyes at each other through their respective webcams while Ginger acted like she was gagging. Ferb pushed his brother away from the screen to avoid them wasting any more time with flirting.

"Get to work with the music mix, Phineas," he told him. "Sorry, Isabella, but we do have a schedule to keep here. When will the decorations arrive?"

"Within the hour," Isabella told him. "I'll be over before then so I can start arranging everything properly."

"Excellent. We'll see you when you get here then," Ferb said. Isabella signed off, so he then turned back to Ginger. "Ginger, how much longer do you suppose it'll take to finish the list?"

"Assuming no distractions, I should be done well before the decorations arrive," Ginger replied. "So I'll sign off for now and buckle down."

"Much appreciated. Just come straight over when you're done."

"Will do. I'll bring Baljeet with me too. See you guys then!"

Ferb signed off of the network for the time being and looked over at Phineas, who looked to be sulking slightly as he browsed through their massive music library.

"You know there was a time when you'd berate me for not giving her enough attention," Phineas said without looking back at his brother.

"When the party's in full swing, you two can do as you please," Ferb told him, folding his arms. "Until then, can you try to stay on task? Remember for whose sake we're doing this after all."

Phineas looked back at Ferb, now smiling as brightly as ever. "I'm well aware, dude. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to give you a hard time for it is all."

"Fair enough. I admit it is fairly ironic to have to tell you to not dote on Isabella."

"Oh, you think?"

Ferb shook his head and joined his brother at his computer as they threw themselves into putting together a top notch music list for what was sure to be a dynamite party.

* * *

Just after noon, Django pulled up in front of the Flynn-Fletcher home on his bike still curious about what the day's activities would entail. Back when he lived in the area he had at least been a spectator for many of the brothers' stunts and inventions, but apart from one time when they helped him paint a massive picture outside the art museum he'd never really been much of a contributor to their efforts. The fact that he'd been summoned to the house with the promise of a surprise especially for him had him mystified. He reached the gate to the backyard, opened it, and couldn't believe his eyes.

An island-themed party was already well underway with a giant TV screen towards the back that had an animated message of "Welcome Home, Django" continually playing on it.

"Hey everyone," Phineas called out, spotting Django as he entered the backyard. "The man of the hour has arrived!"

"Whoa," Django said, quite overwhelmed by the spectacle. "Seriously, whoa. You guys did this for me?"

"Since you're gonna be around the whole summer, we figured people should know you're here," Phineas told him as he stepped up to his old friend. "There's no better way to do that than with a party."

Django smiled and fist bumped Phineas as they walked further into the party. "Dude, you rock harder than words could possibly convey."

"You just mingle around and enjoy the party, man. We've got everything taken care of."

"Gotcha. Think I'll head over and get some food and a drink first."

Phineas headed off to check on other aspects of the party while Django approached the buffet, which was attended by Gretchen and her boss, Jeremy.

"Good afternoon, Django," Gretchen said pleasantly. "We've got a nice variety of choices courtesy of Mr. Slushy Dawg."

"I had no idea there were so many ways to serve a hot dog," Django said, impressed at the spread. There were hot dogs, corn dogs, windmill dogs, tiny hot dogs cut to look like octopuses with smiley faces drawn on them, hot dog hoagies, pigs in a blanket, and at least a half dozen other styles that Django didn't know how to begin describing. All of that didn't even include all of the condiments and toppings available. It was a smorgasbord befitting of a teenaged crowd.

"Knock yourself out, man," Jeremy told him. "Gotta say, I never thought I'd be catering a party with this stuff."

"Hey, you know us teenagers," Django told him, smiling as he piled hot dogs, corn dogs, and a windmill dog on a plate. "We'll eat anything; especially if it's available in large quantities."

Jeremy had to laugh, knowing not too long ago such had applied to him as well. "Truer words were never spoken."

"Thanks guys. I'll be back, count on it."

Django grabbed a can of soda and began munching on hot dogs as he continued making his way around. His next stop was by Ferb, who was surrounded by sound equipment.

"Ferb, my man," Django said after forcing a huge bite of food down his throat. "These are some choice tunes, dude."

"It wouldn't be much of a party without proper music," Ferb replied, saluting Django from where he sat. "How do you feel about something a little more classic-sounding?"

"Hit it and I'll tell you," Django told him, wondering what the British teen had in mind. Ferb hit a few buttons to queue up the song in mind and waited, smiling devilishly at Django. Moments later, the beginning chords of "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet filled the air.

"Dude, you know me so well it's kinda creepy," Django told him.

"I thought it might be fitting," Ferb replied, high-fiveing him as he passed by the table. "Enjoy the party."

Django laughed as he headed away. "As if I could do anything else."

As he continued to enjoy the music, mingle with other teens, and caught up with a few people he recognized, he wondered just how much more surprising the day was going to get.

* * *

"Aw for crying out loud, Katie, how much longer are you gonna be?"

"Excuse me if I'm trying to finish my requirements to get my driver's license! You're the one who keeps bugging me to do it so we can go where we please when we please."

"Yeah, but now I'm gonna be at this party surrounded by people I don't know and couples I'm gonna feel totally out of place around."

"Well, consider the people as future voters to get you elected student council president this fall. As for the couples, what's to worry about? They're all still friends, aren't they?"

"Yeah, friends I barely saw all year because they were so busy with each other."

"You were pretty busy too as I remember."

"With stuff that actually mattered! They were just sucking face in the halls most of the time."

"Look, just stay cool and mingle as much as you can. I'll be done with this lesson pretty soon and I'll be straight over after. I promise."

"Okay…I'll be civil, I promise. Just get here as quickly as you can, please. I'll see you then."

Flipping her cell phone closed, Adyson stopped walking as she saw the Flynn-Fletcher home come into view. She looked over her outfit one last time, making sure nothing was out of place or that anything she didn't want showing was, and then approached the gate of the backyard which was now being guarded by Buford. He looked otherwise like his usual self except for a black t-shirt with large, white block lettering that read "Angry Wall of Meat" and a clipboard he had clutched in his right hand.

"Hey Buford," Adyson said flatly, stepping up to him. "Can I get in here?"

"Name," Buford asked in reply, looking at her as if he were looking through her. Adyson sighed audibly and dramatically. Frustration was setting in already and she wasn't even inside the party yet.

"It's me, doofus. Now let me in."

Buford looked over his clipboard briefly. "Ain't no 'Me' on my list here."

"We're really doing this? Seriously? You've known me since we were kids, for crying out loud!"

"Hey, I don't care how long I've known ya. I don't get a name to check, I can't let ya in. I told Ferb me and my boys would take this seriously and we are."

"Buford, sweetie, are you giving poor Addie a hard time," Milly asked as she stopped by his post. She had a plate of Slushy Dawgs in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. She handed him the plate of food with a sweet smile. "Here, tank up big guy. Gotta keep your energy up."

"Thanks, doll," Buford replied, happily taking the plate as he smiled at her.

"Come on in, Adyson," Milly told her. "I know for a fact you're on the list. Buford just really gets into character when he gets jobs like these, so don't mind him."

"If you say so," Adyson said, warily watching Buford wolf down hot dogs as she entered.

She quickly looked Milly over as they walked. Despite being a bit bigger than the rest of the girls from their old Fireside Girls troop, she still carried herself with poise and dressed quite well with looser blouses and longer skirts as opposed to the more form-fitting styles that most girls their age favored. Milly was also still as good-natured and even-tempered as ever. She had always seemed like something of a mother figure to Adyson, which certainly wasn't a bad thing; just not what she wanted for her own future. Adyson was sure that having a boyfriend had also done wonders for the curly-haired brunette's confidence and temperament as well; even if it was someone as boorish as Buford.

"So what're you up to this summer so far," Adyson asked as they strolled the party.

"Oh I've got a pretty thriving babysitting gig set up," Milly told her, still smiling. "It's decent cash and kinda fun, really. It's making me think about going into daycare or teaching."

"That's cool, I guess. Not my thing, though. Anything else?"

"That's it, really. Apart from spending time with my cuddlesome one, of course." Milly giggled as she thought dreamily about Buford.

"Okay, seriously, whoa. You can't possibly tell me that dude back there with the 'Angry Wall of Meat' t-shirt is cuddly."

"You'd be surprised. When it's just the two of us at the movies we put up the armrest between our seats, snuggle up and…"

"Oookay, thank you for the TMI, Milly," Adyson said, silencing the girl before she went into too much detail about her private time with Buford. "I think I'll just continue on my own from this point, if that's cool with you."

"By all means. Oh just so you know, all the other girls are here except Holly and Katie. Holly's not coming, though. Ginger said she's out of town for a family vacation."

Adyson nodded and waved to Milly as she broke off and headed elsewhere in the backyard. She of course already knew Katie would be late, but with Holly not showing that left her prospects for making it through the rest of the evening with her sanity intact poor to say the least.

Surveying the party she easily spotted each of the other girls in turn. Isabella and Ginger were with Baljeet near the giant TV screen, laughing about something or another amongst themselves. Gretchen was next to the buffet chatting with Ferb, who was eating while they talked. Milly, who she'd just left, wandered over to Phineas who had a pair of headphones on as he took his turn managing the party's music.

As she continued looking around the party at all the other random people she either barely knew or didn't know, she grew more and more despondent. Coming to the party now seemed like a huge mistake, and just as she wondered if it could get any worse for her she tripped over one of the roots of the backyard's tree. She spun and landed on her backside, though she didn't hit the ground as hard as she thought she would. As soon as she got her bearings and looked to her left, she saw why: she had landed in someone's lap.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," she said, suddenly flustered by the flare up of her innate clumsiness. She then stopped as she realized whose lap she'd fallen into.

"Holy cow," Django said, looking at her with utter surprise. "Adyson?"

"Django?"

"Yup, in the flesh. How've you been?"

Adyson shot up to her feet in an instant feeling horrendously embarrassed. She had known the party was to welcome him back to the neighborhood, and she certainly had wanted to reconnect with him, but not by falling on him.

"I've had better days," she said as she tried to straighten her clothes. "Sorry about falling on you there."

"No big," Django said, slowly standing up as well. "It's not the first time you've done that, after all. So what's with the Biz Cas look?"

"Biz Cas? What the heck's that supposed to mean?"

"It's short for business casual. Y'know, like what you're wearing."

Adyson looked herself over again, not finding anything wrong with the light blue sleeveless buttoned blouse and knee-length navy blue skirt she was in.

"I just thought I'd dress up a bit," she said, turning her head to try and hide her blushing. "Besides, there's people here I wanted to impress too.

Django cocked an eyebrow at her. "Dressing to impress? And you're how old?"

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm fifteen, thank you very much!"

"Fifteen going on what? Thirty-two? Seriously, we're in high school Adyson. It's not like we've got some stuffed shirt boss to impress or anything like that."

"I have a hard time taking fashion advice from a guy who's dressed like he slept in the clothes he's currently wearing," Adyson said, looking over his rumpled and faded clothes. "Ever heard of things like cleanliness and hygiene?"

"Hey, I resent that," Django said defensively. "I always change my underwear every day. And I brush my teeth every day…well, almost every day. I think I brushed today…"

Adyson stifled her gag reflex while Django tried to do a sniff test of his own breath, only picking up the smell of the hot dogs he'd been chowing down on all afternoon.

"Do you even have a concept of self-respect," she asked, her stomach finally settled after she willed it to calm down. "Or has the Left Coast sun fried your brain that much?"

"At least my concept of self-respect isn't hung up on appearances," Django replied, looking her over again. "Makes me wonder how comfortable you are with yourself if you're so hung up on how you and other people look."

Indignation filled Adyson. Her eyes went wide as she glared at Django. For his part, Django still looked calm and collected as he was being stared down. He cracked a half-smile at her as she fumed at him.

"Look," he said, changing the tone of his voice to try and calm her down. "You're not the first girl to jump to conclusions based on how I look. So let's just chill a bit, go get a hot dog or something, and…"

Django had used a similar approach to calm down girls in California who'd freaked out on him before and it had never failed him. It made the subsequent slap across his face from Adyson all the more surprising.

"I don't know what living out there did to you," she said angrily, "but you don't get to talk to me like I'm some brainless, superficial twit like your girls back in California! You know nothing about me or what I'm like now. You might be able to fool girls back there into wasting their time on you, but it's clear to me you're nothing but a beach bum who can't be bothered to care about anyone or anything but himself. And even that's questionable."

Only after her rant did Adyson finally look around. She saw a host of familiar faces standing around now, watching them. Feeling like she was about to be surrounded, she quickly found a path to an open part of the backyard and walked away without another word. Phineas and Isabella quickly stepped over to Django, who was rubbing his red left cheek that still stung a bit.

"Are you alright, Django," Isabella asked. "I'm really sorry about that. Adyson's become a bit…abrasive since you left."

"Yeah, I figured that much out," Django replied, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs.

"We'll go talk to her," Phineas told him. "She owes you an apology."

"No, don't. I was pretty out of line too. I'll try to catch up with her a little later. She needs some time to cool down."

"Well, we won't let her leave before this all gets sorted out," Phineas said. "I won't let two friends of mine be at each other's throats like this."

"I'll get Gretchen and go talk to her at least," Isabella said. "Hopefully Katie gets here soon. The two of them are much closer these days and I know she can get Adyson to calm down."

Django nodded to Isabella and she immediately headed off to get Gretchen and go find Adyson. He leaned back against the tree as Phineas stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I guess she's a little different from the girls you know in California, huh," he asked.

"Oh yeah," Django said, laughing a little. "But you know…it's not a bad kind of different."

* * *

The remainder of the party went reasonably quietly. Django greeted and talked with dozens of other kids without incident, but his encounter with Adyson remained at the forefront of his thoughts the entire time. Occasionally he'd spot her across the crowd being accompanied by Isabella, Gretchen, or Katie once she arrived. He'd try to get her attention, but every time she saw him she would whirl and walk in the opposite direction. He began to wonder if he'd even get the opportunity to apologize as the sun began to set, but thankfully Isabella and the other girls were vigilant in making sure Adyson didn't leave with no one noticing.

For her part, Adyson wasn't trying to avoid Django because of not wanting to talk to him. As much as he wanted to apologize to her, she wanted to do the same but found herself wholly embarrassed by her earlier actions. No amount of pep talk from any of the girls, even Katie, had been enough to get her to swallow her massive pride and do it. As she began contemplating simply heading home due to the setting sun, she quickly found herself surrounded by all the other girls, all of whom had their arms folded as they looked at her with disappointed expressions on their faces.

"This isn't gonna end well for me, is it," she asked with a heavy sigh.

"That depends on if you're done playing hide-and-seek now," Isabella told her. "You need to talk to Django and get this all straightened out."

"I don't know that more talking is going to help improve our opinions of each other," Adyson said, shrinking back a bit.

"Leaving without saying anything would be even worse," Gretchen said. "Do you really want to spend the rest of the summer dodging him?"

"Or the rest of us for that matter," Milly added. "We're all going to end up hanging out with him off and on as summer goes on, Addie. If you want to do anything other than just sit at home alone until school starts, you're gonna have to set things straight with him."

"It's just…it's not as easy as you guys are making it out to be," Adyson said, now getting flustered. "At least not for me. I mean, I may be good at just about everything I do…"

"Says Miss Accident Prone Sweetwater," Ginger commented. The old in-joke elicited a stifled chuckle from everyone but Adyson.

"Ha ha," Adyson said, now annoyed with Ginger. "We done with the dumb old joke? Look…I knew Django way before any of you guys. We were in preschool together, along with Phineas and Ferb. I remember the kind of kid he used to be. We were really good friends back then and had a lot of fun together. Living out in California has changed him a lot, though. I can tell. He's not the boy I remember. I wish I could just go up to him and talk like we used to, but I'm just not sure I can."

Katie was about to say her peace on the matter, but paused as she considered everything she'd been told and seen since arriving at the party. First there was the fact that Adyson was pretty dressed up for something as simple as a party in Phineas and Ferb's backyard. Second were the details of the incident, which Gretchen and Ginger had filled her in on upon her arrival. The final nail in the coffin was the fact that just now, as she'd been talking about her childhood with Django, a hint of redness had crept into Adyson's face. When she finally realized what was really going on, Katie burst into laughter that caught the attention of all the other girls present.

"And now Katie's cracked," Adyson said, sighing. "At least I assume that laugh is brought on by insanity caused by this whole mess."

"Oh no no," she said, recovering her composure. "I just figured it out is all."

"Figured what out," Isabella asked.

"What this is really about," Katie told her.

"Care to enlighten us," Gretchen asked.

Katie smiled, walked over to Adyson, and put an arm around her shoulders as she looked back at the rest of the girls.

"Our dear Miss Sweetwater has a crush on young Mister Brown," she announced.

Isabella, Gretchen, Ginger, and Milly all blinked a few times and looked slowly from Katie back to Adyson, whose whole head had turned so red it looked like it was going to pop.

"Th-th-that's absolutely absurd," she said incredulously, quickly pulling herself away from Katie. "What could I possibly see in that…that…slovenly, brain-fried beach bum? I mean, sure he's kinda cute but…"

"Aww," Milly said sweetly. "She thinks he's cute! I think Katie's on the money here."

"Our dear Adyson is a _tsundere_ after all," Ginger added with a giggle. "It makes perfect sense now."

As the ribbing of Adyson continued, Isabella quickly and quietly slipped away from the group momentarily. Adyson, meanwhile, continued to try to mount a defense.

"Hey, what have I said about speaking Japanese around people who don't know the first thing about the language," Adyson said to Ginger, who was still giggling uncontrollably. "And just because I think he's cute does not mean I have a crush on him!"

"Who're you trying to convince here, Adyson," Gretchen asked, not being able to help but smirk at the situation. "Us or yourself?"

"Guys, come on, please," Adyson pleaded, now just about beside herself. "What's it gonna take to convince you that I don't like him like that?"

"How about talking to him, for starts," Isabella said as she returned. She had fetched Django while the girls had kept Adyson flustered and now pushed him to within a few feet of her. "We'll let you two sort things out from here. C'mon, girls."

Adyson found herself speechless as the five girls went their separate ways. Katie quickly flashed her a double thumbs up and mouthed "good luck" as she walked off. Adyson hung her head and arms in defeat for a moment and then straightened up as she looked back at Django, who was scratching the back of his head as he searched for a way to start a conversation. To her there was no denying that he was physically appealing to her with his lightly tanned skin, slightly athletic build, and dusty brown hair that she knew once had been a couple shades darker. No doubt the west coast sun and plenty of salt water had leeched some of the color out of it, but it certainly didn't detract from his appeal. She mused that if only the rest of his appearance as well as his attitude weren't so lackadaisical she might actually consider Katie's assessment accurate.

"The guys really know how to throw a party, huh," Django said, finally finding some way to break the silence that hung between them.

"That's always been their thing though," she replied. "Ever since we were little, they always pulled out all the stops on everything they did."

"Like when we all built that castle out of blocks in Kindergarten."

"You remember that?"

"How could I forget? The thing had a working drawbridge, for crying out loud. Old Miss Harrison stopped them just as they were about to start adding cannons to the ramparts."

"And then by the time their mom showed up to pick them up the rest of the kids had disassembled it already because they'd used up all the blocks in the room to make it. She didn't believe a single word Miss Harrison said about it."

"Yeah, they do seem to lead a charmed life, getting away with just about anything under the sun. I, on the other hand, don't have that luxury."

Adyson frowned and took a deep breath, prepared to make the first move. "Django, listen…"

"No," he told her, looking directly at her now. "Let me go first. Please."

Adyson nodded as Django cleared his throat before speaking.

"You were at least kinda right. I have gotten used to life out in California…a little too used to it. People out there aren't like you guys at all. I remember what it was like when I first got there and told people where I was originally from. They were all like, 'Oh my gawd, people actually live there? I thought that was just fly-over territory!' I didn't feel like I had much choice at the time. If I wanted to make any friends at all, I'd have to adapt to how things are out there. I guess I was still kinda in that mode when I got here, and that's part of why I said what I did."

"Wait…if that's only part of it, what's the rest?"

"Well…to be honest, I remember you being much more fun-loving; at least back in the day. Seeing you dressed up like you're getting ready for some kinda corporate meeting or something…I mean we're still kids aren't we? Why're you dressing like you're in a hurry to join the workforce?"

Adyson fidgeted a bit as she prepared to tell her story. It wasn't one she had shared with many, but if she was going to set things with Django it meant sharing it with him.

"My mom got laid off from her job a couple years ago and she's had trouble finding a new steady one. Dad's still bringing enough money in to cover day-to-day life, but we've had more than one family meeting about my future. My grades were okay before, but nothing to write home about. If I wanted to get into a good college, I'd have to shape up. I got into activities I hadn't considered before and started buckling down. My grades went up, I met new people, and I became pretty well-respected at school. I made student council last year as freshman class rep and I'm gonna take a shot at becoming student council president next school year."

Django was visibly impressed. "Whoa. That's a pretty heavy load."

"Yeah. And I've had to carry it more or less on my own. Katie's the only one of the girls I talk to regularly anymore, and that's because she's my assistant with the student council. Ever since everyone else got romantically involved with each other over the past year, I've seen less and less of them. It sucks, but this is how things are for me now. It's not that I don't want to do fun things anymore, but I have a different set of priorities than I did when you knew me. Different things are important to me now, and I have an image to maintain. That's why I said what I did, or at least part of why."

"Okay, now it's my turn. If that was only part of it, what was the rest of it?"

She looked at him disappointedly. "The rest was my honest to goodness opinion. You really do look like a slob, Django."

"Oh. Heh. Yeah, I guess I do. But that doesn't mean I don't care about myself or others."

"Do you mean that, or are you just saying it to try to get out of trouble with me?"

"Adyson, you're the last person I want to have mad at me. I mean it. We may have become really different people but that doesn't mean we can't like each other at all anymore, right?"

Adyson carefully considered Django's words, as well as the look on his face. She had to admit, it all felt far too genuine to be just another attempt to get off the hook like before. She allowed herself to smile as she nodded at him.

"I never have been able to stay mad at you, even back when you'd flip my skirt in grade school all the time," she told him.

"Thanks, Adyson," Django said, looking incredibly relieved. "And for the record, I only ever did that because I thought you were cute back then."

Adyson laughed and shook her head at him. "Okay now I know you're just trying to be all smooth again."

"If you say so, but it's the truth. Was back then, and still is now for that matter."

"Yeah sure, whatever. You must have become quite the player back in California. Any normal girl would fall for that kind of talk in a heartbeat, and I of course am no normal girl."

"No. No you're not. But I don't go for just any cute girl I see, you know. Appearances aren't everything, after all."

"And yet you just got done talking about the façade you put up just so you can fit in out west. Face it; you're as hung up on appearances as I am, just in a different way."

"Aha! So you admit you're hung up on appearances, then?"

Adyson suddenly realized her mistake and went into damage control mode. "I didn't say that."

"Oh you most certainly did," Django said, pointing a finger at her. "You said, 'You're as hung up on appearances as I am', I heard you clear as day."

"No no no, I said 'You're just that hung up on appearances'. Don't put words in my mouth."

Django laughed at her as he folded his arms. "Now who's the one who's acting like they've been out in the sun too long?"

Adyson put her hands on her hips as she leaned towards him now. "Excuse me? This coming from a hippie surfer dude who can barely remember if he brushed his teeth this morning?"

"Which I did. I called Jenny and she helped me remember."

Adyson rubbed her forehead in disbelief. "You had to call your older sister to get help remembering that? Good grief, Django, you really are a beach bum!"

"At least I don't come to a summer party full of teenagers dressed like I'm gonna try to recruit 'em into the Young Republicans."

"At least I don't come to a summer party full of teenagers dressed like I just came from a drum circle at some hippie commune!"

As the tit-for-tat exchange between the two went on and on, the rest of the gang merely sat back watching with a few of them eating some of what was left of the Slushy Dawg buffet spread.

"Like I said," Katie said as she continued watching them. "She's totally got a crush on him."

"No doubt," Gretchen added. "Looks like Django's got his eyes on Adyson too for that matter."

"What was that word you used earlier to describe Addie again, Ginger," Milly asked.

"_Tsundere_," Ginger replied. "And yes. Yes she is. I'll explain it to you later."

"So, anyone wanna place bets on if they hook up over the summer," Phineas asked.

"Ain't much to bet on there, Dinner Bell," Buford said as he wolfed down another hot dog. "Seems like a sure thing to me."

"How about we bet on when it happens, then," Isabella asked. "I've got five bucks says they're dating by August first."

"It'll definitely be sooner than that," Ferb stated. "Fourth of July and not a day later."

One by one the gang made their predictions, with the most radical being Milly's guess that the two would be a couple inside of two weeks and the furthest prediction being Baljeet's guess that they admitted their feelings for each other the day before Django would have to leave. After a quick agreement by all to not interfere with the natural course of things between the two, they all returned to watching the pair in question continue to berate each other. It would go on for another fifteen minutes, and left them all wanting more.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Fireside Girls Troop 46231 is facing a leadership crisis, and it's up to three former Fireside Girls to resolve it. Will the current troop leader keep her position, or will a mystery new girl take over and turn the entire troop upside down?

* * *

**Translation Notes for this chapter  
**

tsundere - An often-used character type in anime these days, it basically means someone who outwardly acts gruff and standoff-ish towards someone but deep down harbors rather sweet, loving feelings for them. And like Ginger said regarding Adyson: Yes. Yes she is.


	4. Fireside Fracas

**Fireside Fracas**

Adyson checked her wristwatch once again after looking up and down the street just outside her house. There was still no sign of either Isabella or Gretchen. She'd gotten a call from Isabella the previous day asking if she wanted to spend the day with them trolling the Googolplex Mall. Naturally she'd accepted, as any chance to reconnect with the two girls after not getting to see them much during the school year was very welcome. It was coming up on the time for them to be picking her up, though, and now Adyson's mind began playing tricks on her. Had they changed their minds? Had they gone there without her? Had it just been a trick all along to have a laugh at her expense? Just as she reached for her cell phone to call them and get the straight story, she spotted them coming down the street on their bicycles. She exhaled, letting her self-inflicted stress out, and recomposed herself as they pulled up.

"Hey there strangers," she said, standing up to greet them.

"Hey Adyson," Isabella replied cheerily. "We're not running late, are we?"

"Almost, but you made it just in time."

"You can thank Gretchen for that. I could barely drag her away from Ferb."

"I was ensuring he had received appropriate medical attention for an injury sustained while making preparations for the day's fantastical endeavor," Gretchen said indignantly.

"Wanna run that by me again in a language sane people understand," Adyson asked.

"Ferb got a papercut from the blueprints he was reading and Florence Nightingale here went all OCD on his treatment," Isabella told her.

"It could have gone gangrenous if it had gotten infected," Gretchen said defensively.

"Gangrenous," Adyson repeated flatly. "I was right. There is such a thing as being too smart for your own good."

"Maybe I should call and check up on him," Gretchen said to herself, looking at her cell phone.

"Do it and I'll take it and not give it back until we're done today," Isabella told her in a warning tone.

"So how come you two aren't helping the guys with their project today," Adyson asked as she walked to the garage to get her own bicycle. "Not that I'm complaining, I welcome the chance for a girls' day out. Just curious is all."

"Well, uh…we learned of circumstances that were going to make for an uncomfortable working atmosphere today," Isabella said carefully.

Adyson narrowed her eyes at Isabella and then looked at Gretchen for a proper explanation.

"Irving posted on Facebook yesterday that he was going to be there today," Gretchen told her.

"That's all you had to say," Adyson said, smirking at Isabella.

"I know I should be more tolerant of him," Isabella said, sounding disappointed in herself. "Especially since he indirectly helped Baljeet and Ginger get together, but-"

Isabella was cut off by one of her custom ringtones coming from her phone. It was a recording of the Fireside Girls Song, and she knew immediately when she heard that tone it was Mrs. Feyersied calling her. Adyson and Gretchen both also recognized the tone and immediately fell silent as Isabella answered her phone. Mrs. Feyersied didn't call them anymore unless it was something important.

"Hello? Mrs. Feyersied? It's good to hear you again too, ma'am. Is something wrong? What? You're kidding… No, I'll be right over. Gretchen and Adyson are with me, I'm sure they'll be willing to come with me. We'll be there shortly."

Isabella ended the call and looked at her friends, who both looked concerned.

"What's the issue, chief," Gretchen asked, immediately falling back into her old second-in-command role.

"Mrs. Feyersied needs us at the lodge immediately," Isabella told her. "Troop 46231 is facing a crisis of some sort and she needs outside help to resolve it."

"What're we hanging around here for then," Adyson said, mounting her bike. "Let's ride!"

The three former Fireside Girls took off racing from Adyson's home, heading downtown to the Fireside Lodge to find out what could possibly be causing such an uproar with their beloved former troop.

* * *

Immediately upon their arrival at the lodge, each of the three girls rushed up and hugged the elderly Mrs. Feyersied in turn. They all had many fond memories of their times with the troop, and they all had her to thank for establishing the organization decades ago. There had been no debate about answering her call for help; they felt they owed her as much if not more.

"You have my gratitude for coming so quickly, girls," Mrs. Feyersied told them. "Troop 46231 is facing a leadership crisis following the induction of a new member to the troop this morning."

"A leadership crisis," Gretchen repeated. "I thought the troop had a leader already?"

Mrs. Feyersied nodded to her. "It does. As soon as she was sworn in, however, the new girl demanded a challenge for troop leadership. The challenge was accepted, but it can't be resolved without an impartial committee of judges comprised of former Fireside Girls. That's why I called Isabella."

"We'd be happy to help however we can, ma'am," Isabella told her, with Gretchen and Adyson nodding ardently in agreement.

"I knew I could count on you, girls," Mrs. Feyersied said, smiling warmly at them. "I daresay you were the finest group of girls I've ever had the pleasure of training."

"So where are the troop leader and this new girl," Adyson asked.

"I had them wait in the next room until you girls arrived," Mrs. Feyersied said as she began moving slowly across the room. "We can go see them now and begin preparing for the challenge."

Adyson gave Mrs. Feyersied a hand coming into the room with Isabella and Gretchen following them into the room. Two young, blonde girls sat on either side of the room glaring daggers at each other. The one closest to the door had her hair in twin, wavy pigtails held up with orange hair bands that sat just under a brown beret, and her uniform sported a sash with a couple dozen achievement patched, a red belt, pleated skirt, and black shoes. She shifted her blue eyes to look over at the doorway as she heard the group enter and gasped upon seeing Isabella, who likewise gasped in surprise.

"Melissa," Isabella said, recognizing the girl from when she was a Lil' Spark. "Is that you?"

"Oh my gosh, Isabella," Melissa said, jumping up and hugging her former mentor tightly. "I've missed you sooooo much!"

Isabella let go of the girl and stepped back to look her over. "You sure have grown a lot! And look at you, a full-fledged Fireside Girl now!"

"Not only that, she's the current Troop Leader, Isabella," Mrs. Feyersied told her with a smile.

"A situation soon to be rectified," the other girl said bitterly. Unlike Melissa's more wavy hair, this girl's blonde hair was both massive and curly. It was tied into two large puffy pigtails held in place with orange bows. She sported an orange beret, an orange shirt buttoned only at the top with a white shirt underneath, a short brown skirt flared out wide at the sides, and white socks with black flat shoes. Her brand new sash was slung around her, but was currently patch-less.

"Girls, this is the newest recruit to Troop 46231," Mrs. Feyersied told them. "Meet…"

"Suzy Johnson," Isabella said in surprise, stepping away from Melissa momentarily. "I don't remember you ever being a Lil' Spark though…"

"Why would I have wasted my time with the bush league when this is where the real action happens," Suzy replied arrogantly. "What I want to know is how is this challenge supposed to be fair when she's clearly got one of the judges in her pocket?"

"Excuse me," Isabella said in indignation. "I am perfectly capable of being impartial on this matter."

"Right," Suzy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Impartial judges always go around hugging the competitors they're going to be judging."

Gretchen stopped Isabella from going over to berate Suzy and addressed the girl herself.

"Even if Isabella weren't impartial, which I know she will be, Adyson and I aren't so familiar with Melissa," she told Suzy. "A two-to-one vote in your favor would still be a win."

"I suppose that'll do," Suzy said, conceding the point as she hopped to her feet. "So when do we get this show on the road?"

"Hang on, there's still something I don't get," Adyson said, looking at Mrs. Feyersied. "How can she challenge for leadership if she just joined? Isn't there some kind of seniority rule or something?"

"Article twelve, Section Baker, Footnote thirteen," Suzy said as she recalled the passage from the handbook. "Any active Fireside Girl may challenge for leadership of a troop once every six months."

"She's right," Melissa said despondently, folding her arms. "I even double-checked it in the book to make sure she wasn't just making it up."

"You would've liked it if I had, wouldn't you," Suzy said tauntingly.

Melissa glared back at her again. "You're still never gonna win!"

"Never say never!"

"Enough, both of you," Isabella said commandingly, stepping between the two. "The challenge will begin at eleven hundred hours sharp in Danville Public Park. You both have one hour to prepare, so make the most of it. Dismissed."

"You're not the boss of me," Suzy muttered.

"I said **dismissed**," Isabella repeated authoritatively as she bent over to look Suzy in the eyes. "You're being addressed by a former Troop Leader and you **will** do as I say or this challenge **won't** happen today. Do you understand me?"

Suzy swallowed audibly as she wavered under Isabella's intense glare. "Y-yes ma'am…"

Melissa and Suzy both saluted Isabella and left the room to make their preparations for the coming challenge while Isabella rejoined the girls and Mrs. Feyersied.

"You know, I was about to wonder why no one had ever bothered to challenge you when we were active, Isabella," Adyson said to her upon her return. "But I just now remembered why."

"Yeah, we were a pretty close bunch," Isabella said nostalgically.

"I more meant the fact that you can be one scary mamma jamma at times. But yeah, we were all tight too."

Gretchen and Mrs. Feyersied both chuckled as Isabella grumbled at Adyson.

"All jokes aside, something doesn't sit right with me here," Isabella said after the laughter at her expense had died down. "Even though we know Suzy's challenge is legitimate, it doesn't explain why she's doing this. I didn't even think she was interested in scouting."

"It's a valid question," Adyson noted. "But not one I think we have the time or luxury to try and answer. This challenge is going down an hour from now. We don't have time to investigate it properly."

"Unfortunately, Adyson's right," Gretchen added. "We need to plan the tasks for the challenge and judge the girls' performances. We've got work to do."

Isabella nodded in agreement as the three, along with Mrs. Feyersied, began planning the tasks for the challenge. She silently wished Melissa all the luck in the world as she did her best to force her mind into a more impartial state for the job that lie ahead.

* * *

A small crowd had gathered in the park as word of the challenge spread around town. As spectators gathered and got comfortable, Melissa and Suzy stretched and limbered up. Both had brought a duffel bag with various items each thought they might need for the tasks, and both of them were eager to begin. As they eyed each other while loosening up, Mrs. Feyersied and the girls approached with uncharacteristically serious looks on their faces.

"Hey Isabella," a familiar voice called out as they approached. Isabella looked over and saw Candace waving to her. She unfolded a lawn chair and taking a seat to watch the challenge as well.

"Candace, what're you doing here," she asked, quickly approaching the eldest Flynn sibling. "I was of the impression Suzy still basically hates you."

"Oh she does," Candace said with a slightly nervous laugh. "But Jeremy can't get away from work today. He asked me to come watch and cheer for her on his behalf."

"That's pretty big of you all things considering."

Candace shrugged at her. "Whether she or I like it or not, we're going to be sisters-in-law in a couple of months. Someone has to offer up an olive branch and it sure as heck isn't gonna be her. I just wish she'd swallow a little of her pride and agree to be in the wedding. Jeremy's kind of upset that she's still refusing."

Just then, Suzy stormed up to the two and glared at Candace, who simply met her gaze as calmly and evenly as possible.

"Where's Jeremy," she asked demandingly.

"At work," Candace told her. "I'm your cheering section today. So good luck out-"

"I'm not doing this for you," Suzy told her, cutting her off. "Just sit, be quiet, and watch while I do this. And you'd better tell Jeremy all about how easily I beat this girl today."

Suzy took another look at Isabella and, without another word, returned to her duffel bag to continue preparing. Isabella shook her head in disbelief at the scene she'd just witnessed.

"I have to hand it to you, Candace," she said, looking back at the redhead. "I don't think I'd be able to stand being treated like that by someone so much younger than me."

"I'm not exactly happy about it either," Candace replied. "But what're you gonna do? Yelling right back at her isn't going to help, and I'm not her mother so I don't have any authority over her. It's just another punch I have to roll with."

"I hope she calms down someday for you."

"I try to look at the bright side. At least when you join the family I'll have a sister-in-law who won't bite my head off and gnaw on it for hours on end."

Candace couldn't help but laugh as she watched Isabella's face turn bright red as she became utterly flustered at what she had just implied.

"Anyway, you'd better get going. I've got some phone calls to make to check on wedding preparations."

"Right," Isabella said, shaking herself out of her embarrassment. "Sit back and try to enjoy the challenge, though honestly I'm hoping Melissa wins this."

"Between you and me, so am I."

Isabella left Candace to get comfortable and re-joined the girls and Mrs. Feyersied who were standing in the middle of the gathered spectators. Melissa and Suzy stood on either side of them, both waiting to hear the nature of the challenge.

"This is an official troop leadership challenge for leadership of Fireside Girls Troop 46231," Mrs. Feyersied announced. "The challenge will be comprised of three tasks that will be judged by the three former Fireside Girls accompanying me. Whichever participant wins two of the three events will be recognized as Troop Leader. We will begin with the first task, which will be presented by former Fireside Girl Adyson Sweetwater."

Mrs. Feyersied stepped back as Adyson stepped up and looked at both girls. "Your first task is a race of sorts. You'll both race from here to the fountain in the middle of the park and back. At the fountain you'll each encounter two people in need of help. You can only help one of them, so you'll have to choose who needs your help the most, help them, and then finish the race. Choose carefully and finish both your task and the race quickly. Your time is important but so is the decision you make."

With the task fully explained, Suzy and Melissa took their places on the starting line. Mrs. Feyersied fired off a starting pistol and both girls took off running through the park. Melissa turned out to be the clearly faster runner, pulling ahead of Suzy quickly and easily. She reached the fountain first and encountered her two people: a large woman who looked to be suffering from stomach pains, and a little boy crying because he'd tripped and skinned his knees (though he had only been made up to look like he had done so.) As Melissa pondered who to help, Suzy made it to the fountain and encountered her two people: a middle-aged man who seemed to have misplaced something, and a little girl crying hysterically.

While Melissa debated, Suzy acted. She checked with the little girl and discovered she had gotten separated from her mother. Suzy took her by the hand and spent the next few minutes helping her track down her mother, successfully doing so while Melissa was still administering basic first aid to the little boy. She took off running back to the finish line, hoping to put enough distance between her and Melissa before Melissa finished her first aid. Melissa finished her task moments later and darted off after Suzy, but even with her speed still came in a few seconds behind her.

As the two girls caught their breath, the judges received word from the people at the fountain about how the girls had performed. They conferred briefly and then Adyson stepped up for the announcement.

"Both girls performed this task very well," she said. "However, Melissa, as good as your first aid was on the boy you chose to help, the woman was actually more in need of attention."

"But...all she had…was a stomach ache…" Melissa said between breaths.

"If you'd taken the time to check on her more, you would've discovered she was actually pregnant and those were labor pains. She was in need of transport to the hospital, something far more urgent than skinned knees. Suzy, on the other hand, made the correct choice to help the lost girl instead of the man who was looking for his sunglasses that were actually on top of his head. That, combined with the fact that she returned first, makes Suzy the winner of the first task."

Suzy raised her hands victoriously as the crowd cheered for her. Melissa cursed her lapse in judgment, but she refused to lose hope. Two tasks remained, and the challenge was far from over.

* * *

After a short break so both girls could fully catch their breath, Mrs. Feyersied addressed them and the crowd again.

"The second task will be presented by former Fireside Girl Gretchen Adler," she said, introducing Gretchen who stepped up and adjusted her glasses as she looked at both girls.

"Your second task will be to analyze a situation in depth and make a proper decision," she told them. "Once I present the situation to both of you, you will have ten minutes to consider it and make your choice. Here is your situation:

"Your troop members are looking to you for guidance about what achievement patch to attempt to acquire next. Some of them have far more patches than others, and they clearly do not want to get multiples of any existing patches. However, there are other girls who don't have patches that they do and who want to get those patches as well. You are tasked with deciding what patch to have the troop attempt to acquire next. You must provide acceptable reasoning for your decision as well. You have half an hour starting now."

Suzy rolled her eyes and scoffed at what she figured was a simple enough scenario and decided to just sit and wait for time to expire. She knew her answer already. Melissa, however, clearly had more on her mind regarding the matter. She quickly went to the duffel bag she'd prepared for the challenge and produced her copy of the catalog of achievement patches. As time ticked away, she looked through it feverishly until she found what she was looking for. She quickly bookmarked the page and closed the book just as time expired.

"Time's up," Gretchen announced. "Suzy, since you won the last task you'll present your solution first."

"It's simple, really," Suzy said, standing up and stepping up to Gretchen. "You have to keep everyone happy, so you just pick a patch no one has yet. The girls who want patches that the other girls have will just have to go after them on their own time. The needs of the whole team outweigh the needs of just a few members."

"That's not really solving the problem, though," Melissa countered, quickly joining the two. "Being a Fireside Girl isn't just about being a team; it's also about being there to help each other. Besides, there's another answer that will make sure everyone gets what they want."

Melissa quickly opened the book she had been looking through to the bookmarked page. Inside were multiple versions of the same patch: the 'Help Thy Neighbor' patch.

"After Troop 46231 accumulated more 'Help Thy Neighbor' patches than any troop in the history of the Fireside Girls six years ago, a new system was developed for that particular achievement patch. For every ten times a girl qualifies for it after their first time getting it, they'll qualify to get an upgraded version of it instead of just another copy. The more sophisticated versions of the patch are more prestigious and mark the bearer as a Fireside Girl who'll do whatever it takes to help her fellow girls out, even if it means repeating achievements they've already accomplished. So by agreeing to help others get their patches, the more experienced girls will still qualify for something they don't have yet."

"Is that retroactive," Adyson whispered to Isabella. "I've still got, like, ninety of those things in a shoebox in my closet."

Isabella giggled quietly and hushed Adyson as Gretchen came back to confer with them on the presented solutions. Moments later, Gretchen stepped back over to Suzy and Melissa.

"Both solutions are sound," she said. "However, Suzy, yours neglects the needs and wishes of a significant portion of the troop. Melissa put much more thought and effort into finding an answer that would satisfy both the team's need for overall achievement and the individual girls' desires for personal achievement. Melissa is the winner of the second task."

Cheers rose up from the crowd again as Melissa thanked Gretchen. Suzy folded her arms and grumbled to herself. She resolved that she would simply have to crush Melissa on the final task in order to achieve her goal; a goal she was bent on reaching no matter what.

* * *

For the final task, everyone had relocated to the Danville Public Pool. Suzy and Melissa had changed into simple one-piece swimsuits and stood looking over the water as Mrs. Feyersied addressed them.

"The final task will be presented by former Fireside Girl and former Troop Leader of 46231, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro," she announced before stepping aside as Isabella stepped up.

"This last task is a simulated rescue operation," she said. "At the other end of the pool are two specially rigged training dummies. These dummies will continually collect water, making them heavier and harder to swim with as time goes on. On my mark, you'll each swim from one end of the pool to the other, collect the training dummy, and then bring it safely back. The first one to get their rescued dummy back to shore safely will win and will be recognized as troop leader. Swimmers, take your marks!"

Melissa and Suzy both prepared to dive into the water on Isabella's command. As they waited, Melissa looked over at her opponent.

"Hey, good luck Suzy," she said. "May the best girl win. I mean that."

"Don't worry," Suzy replied without looking at her. "I intend to."

Isabella held a starter pistol above her head as she stood by the edge of the pool. "On your marks…get set…"

Immediately as the pistol fired, both girls dove headfirst into the pool and began swimming for the other side. Despite being slower on foot, Suzy proved to be a far more powerful swimmer than Melissa and quickly left her behind. She reached her dummy first and took a quick look over it. Sure enough, there were holes in it that were letting water flow in and make it heavier. She quickly hooked one of her thumbs into one of the holes as she grabbed it and began swimming back just as Melissa was reaching her own dummy.

As Suzy began swimming back, Suzy noticed that despite plugging one of the holes her dummy was quickly beginning to weigh her down. As she treid to shift her hold of it, she realized that her thumb had become stuck in the hole in the dummy. What was worse, it was beginning to drag her down. She found herself flailing just to stay afloat.

Melissa caught up to Suzy just in time to see her head begin bobbing in and out of the water. Her own dummy was starting to weigh her down, but Suzy was clearly in serious trouble. She abandoned her lane - keeping her dummy with her - and attempted to at least get Suzy's head above water so she could breathe. The combined weight of two dummies and Suzy, however, quickly overpowered her and they both found themselves being pulled underwater.

Isabella reacted immediately. She removed her shoes, dove in, and swam hard to reach the struggling girls. She quickly reached them, grabbed Melissa, and swam back up with her. As she hefted her up out of the pool, she heard another splash behind her. Moments later, Candace's head burst forth from underwater as she brought Suzy up. She quickly got Suzy onto dry land and checked on her as soon as she was out as well. Suzy was coughing and hacking, so Candace turned her head so she could cough up the water in her lungs.

"Are they alright,' Mrs. Feyersied said, sounding truly concerned for the girls.

"They're fine, Mrs. Feyersied," Isabella told her, catching her breath. "Scared out of their wits, but otherwise fine."

Suzy finally stopped coughing and looked up, seeing a soaked and bedraggled Candace looking worriedly at her. She panicked and looked around quickly, finally spotting Melissa not far away looking a bit shaken up but alright. She looked back at the water and grabbed for her dummy, intent on finishing the race while Melissa was recovering, but was stopped by Candace's hand on her arm.

"Enough, Suzy," Candace told her. "You're not going back in there."

"Let go of me," Suzy shouted. "I'm gonna win this! I have to!"

"Suzy," Candace said, shouting to get the girl's attention. Suzy stopped and looked at Candace, a somewhat wild look in her eyes. "I understand why you're doing this…but do you really think Jeremy would approve of you winning under these circumstances?"

"Shut up," Suzy shot back. She was completely unaware of the tears now welling up in her eyes as she glared angrily at Candace. "Of course you'd say something like that! You're the one who's taking him away from me. He's my brother! Mine! All I have to do is do something really special like this and he'll love me again! Not you!"

"That's what this is about," Isabella said in realization as she stood next to Candace. Candace simply nodded without looking at Isabella as she scooted closer to Suzy.

"I don't want to take him away from you, Suzy," Candace told her. "That's never been my intent. But I do love him. I love him just as much as you do…more than anyone I've ever known. When he asked me to marry him back last Christmas, it made me the happiest woman in town. But you know what he told me that night after I accepted?"

Suzy didn't speak, but simply looked questioningly at Candace as she continued.

"He said he was looking forward to all of us being a family together. Jeremy will always love you, Suzy. You're his irreplaceable little sister, and you'll always be his number one girl. I know because he's told me time after time exactly that. But he also loves me and wants to be my husband…and I want to be his wife. So please, Suzy…put an end to this."

Suzy huffed and puffed a few more times as Candace extended a hand to her. Finally, she dropped the dummy and collapsed into Candace's arms, bawling her eyes out. Adyson quickly put a couple of large towels around them to provide some warmth as neither of them had been able to dry off yet. After several minutes of comforting her, Candace stood up and helped Suzy to her feet. Suzy continued to sniffle, but seemed to have mostly regained her composure. She stepped over to Melissa as she wiped her red eyes with her towel.

"I concede," she said weakly. "I didn't want to admit it before, but you really are the more qualified one to be leader. Don't worry, you won't be hearing from me again."

"But…why not," Melissa asked, causing Suzy to look at her in surprise. "Suzy, you're pretty amazing as well. Even if you weren't a Lil' Spark, you've still got the stuff it takes to be a real Fireside Girl. I'd love to have you in the troop."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. You're not one to give up on something so easily. Remember the first rule of the Fireside Girls, after all."

"The first rule of the Fireside Girls is you do not talk about the Fireside Girls," Adyson said proudly. She then lurched forward as Gretchen smacked her hard across the back of her head. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Just something I promised myself I'd do a while back," Gretchen told her with a smirk. "Now hush."

"Never give up, never surrender," Suzy said, replying to Melissa.

"We may each be pretty good on our own," Melissa told her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "but think of what we could do together! Especially with the other girls in the troop along with us."

Suzy thought for a moment about it, and eventually smiled back at Melissa. "We would be pretty dynamite, wouldn't we?"

"Without a doubt. Besides, I could use a solid second-in-command and you've more than proved you could fill that role."

"I guess there are worse ways to spend a summer vacation. If you really don't mind having me around, I think I would like to stay after all."

Melissa and Suzy hugged, which was met with applause from all the spectators as well as the girls. Mrs. Feyersied dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief as she was so touched by the new camaraderie between the two young girls.

"There's just one thing though," Suzy said, stepping back from Melissa. "In August I'm going to need a couple of days away from the troop. That is…"

Suzy turned and looked up at Candace. "…if I can still have that spot in the wedding you offered me before."

"Nothing would make Jeremy and I happier than to have you as a bridesmaid, Suzy," Candace told her with a warm smile. "Thank you."

Suzy shook her head at her. "No, thank you Candace. I mean…sis."

* * *

A few days passed and Isabella, Gretchen, and Adyson found themselves relaxing on Isabella's front lawn. Ever since the challenge between Melissa and Suzy, the three had done their best to spend a little more time with each other so as to renew their friendship again. Currently they were simply lying on the lawn watching clouds.

"Man am I glad we never had drama like that when we were active in the troop," Adyson said. They had just been going over the whole event again, and it again made her thankful their troop had been such a tightly knit group.

"Yeah, all we had to deal with was a Troop Leader who was prone to fits of obsessive daydreaming," Gretchen added with a laugh.

"I'm right here, you know, guys," Isabella told them, sounding mildly annoyed. "And I heard that, Gretchen."

Gretchen sat up and grinned at her. "Yup. That's because I said it out loud."

"Hey, speaking of troops, check it out," Adyson said, pointing up the street. Isabella and Gretchen looked and saw Melissa leading Suzy and a group of other Fireside Girls their way. The three teenage girls got up and walked over to greet the troop.

"Hey guys," Isabella said with a brilliant smile. "Whatcha doin'?"

"On our way to work on our 'Endangered Wildlife Preservation' patches," Melissa told them. "We're gonna hold a car wash to raise money to save the meerkat."

"That sounds like a great idea," Isabella told her. "Best of luck on it."

"We don't need luck," Suzy added cockily. "We're just that good."

"By the way, meet the troop," Melissa said, turning to introduce the other girls. "There's Trisha, Marty, the twins Tina and Gina, and Doris."

Trisha was a freckled redhead with pale skin. Marty had very short black hair and very much looked like a tomboy. Tina and Gina were both brunettes and were practically identical except one wore her hair in pigtails and the other wore her hair in a ponytail. Finally, Doris was a particularly large girl with braided black hair. They all saluted the older girls, who saluted them back in turn.

"Looks like you guys have one heck of a troop," Adyson said, complimenting them.

"You'd better believe it," Suzy told her proudly. "We're out to break every record you guys ever set."

"Good luck with that," Adyson told her, then muttering under her breath, "Fat chance of that happening."

"And I'm sure you'll have loads of fun doing it too," Isabella said.

Melissa and Suzy looked at each other, smiled, and then looked back at Isabella and said in unison,

"Yes. Yes we will."

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Django decides to find out how far his friends' relationships have progressed, but when it turns out one of them has actually gone farther than the others it has them all wanting the details of the event. Who is it? And how far did they actually go?

* * *

**Content Advisory**

The next chapter will contain some mildly adult content. No sex or anything terribly explicit, mind you, but I wanted to alert any readers who may be sensitive about this sort of thing ahead of time. This will also not be the last time this sort of thing comes up over the course of this story. Trust me, though, it will be all be handled in a very tasteful and romantic manner.


	5. The Huddle

**The Huddle**

Django hadn't thought it possible to feel like a third wheel among a group of guys, and yet here he was feeling completely out of place sitting with his friends in a booth at a pizzeria of all places. To his right, Phineas sat scribbling away in a notebook; no doubt writing down potential big ideas to try to sketch out further with Ferb later. Immediately across from him, Baljeet was reading a rather worn copy of Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" for what he claimed was the tenth time. Finally, next to Baljeet sat Ferb reading an extremely worn copy of "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. Django didn't bother asking how many times Ferb had read the book, as it was clearly a favorite of his.

"Does a day go by when you three don't get your nerd on," Django asked, leaning his face onto his left hand as he looked at them.

"We actually don't get many chances these days," Baljeet replied without looking up from his book. "It's hard to get any reading done when our girlfriends are around."

"Or brainstorming," Phineas added as he turned to a fresh page in his notebook. "Anymore, every time I pick up a pencil when Isabella's around I get dirty looks from her."

"You're getting one from me right now," Django told him, narrowing his eyes at his red-haired friend.

Phineas didn't even register him as he continued writing. "No offense, dude, but you've got nothing on Izzie there."

"The truth of it is, we're all quite enamored of our girlfriends," Ferb said, briefly putting his book down to actually look at Django as he spoke. "But on such an occasion as a summer day when we don't get to spend time with them, we do like to fill the time with some old pastimes. It's nothing against you, mate, really."

Just then there was a chorus of growling stomachs from all four of them at the table.

"Plus, doing these things helps keep our minds off the fact that we're all positively starving," Ferb added.

"There are other ways we could accomplish that, you know," Django said, folding his arms as he sat up now. "I gotta say, since I got back and got up to speed on things I've been more than a little curious about how things are going for you guys."

"What do you mean by that," Baljeet asked, now putting his book down as well.

"Well, like what base you guys are all on," Django told him.

"Base," Phineas repeated questioningly, having tucked away his notebook finally.

Django nodded to him. "Yeah, y'know, first base, second base, and so on."

The gallery of blank stares he was getting told Django clear as day that none of them had any idea what he was talking about. He sighed heavily and re-thought his approach.

"They're metaphors for how far you've gotten with a girl," he told them directly.

"Ohhhh," all three of them said in unison. They then all stopped as they also simultaneously realized what Django was asking them. "WHAT?"

Django almost fell out of the booth from their combined shout at him. He hushed them all again and ushered them to lean in towards the table together.

"Guys, seriously," he told them in a slightly quieter tone. "There's no need to overreact. I'm just honestly curious is all."

"It's not something we exactly talk about amongst ourselves, dude," Phineas told him.

"All the more reason to do so now since we're in the huddle," Django replied.

"The huddle," Baljeet asked. "Is this another of your metaphors?"

Django shook his head at him. "Look, 'Jeet, we're all huddled up together now, right? Like in football, only without the overrated macho game. When we're in the huddle, it's private talk time. What gets said in the huddle stays in the huddle. Okay?"

"Well…I guess," Baljeet said, tentatively.

"That's all well and good, but do you mind explaining all this base talk now," Ferb asked. "For the life of me, despite having lived in this country most of my life I've never heard of it."

"It's really simple," Django said as he set to explaining it all. "The higher the base means the further you've gotten. First base is just straight-up kissing. Second base is…well, let's just say it's a little more touchy-feely if you get me."

"What about third base," Baljeet asked.

"I think we'll leave that one out for now," Django said after a moment of thought. "If you guys are having to ask me what this stuff means, then I seriously doubt any of you are that far along."

"Okay, so who's going first," Phineas asked.

"You asked, so you go man," Django told him. "Honestly, you and Isabella are the ones I'm keenly curious about."

"Sorry to disappoint, then, but we're very much on first base," Phineas told him quietly.

"Aw you're kidding!"

"Nope. Isabella's pretty conscious about that kind of stuff. As much as she wants to have kids someday, she definitely doesn't want it to happen as long as she's got the word 'teen' somewhere in her age. And I'm cool with that. It's not like kissing isn't fun by itself anyway."

"Color me surprised. I would've guessed she'd be all over you."

Phineas stopped himself short of talking about his experiences with Isabella's reaction to him speaking Spanish, as well as withholding the details of the encounter at the pool the day they'd met up with Django again. Some things were better kept private no matter how close he was to him as a friend.

"How about you, 'Jeet," Django asked, turning to him next. "Is Ginger secretly a Japanese love goddess?"

"I'm also on this first base, as you call it," Baljeet replied. "But I'm pretty sure Ginger has a schedule somewhere for when she figures we will take things to the next step."

"Dude, you talk like your romantic life for the next couple of months is already planned out."

"More like the next eighteen months. It's quite comforting to know where we're headed and when we'll get there, I can tell you that. She's truly a one-of-a-kind girl."

"Yeah, thank goodness for that," Django said, suddenly horrified by the truth of what Baljeet and Ginger's romantic life was like. "Well, that's two first bases. My guess is you're sitting in the same place, Ferb."

"Er…yes," Ferb said quickly as his eyes wandered over to the window and away from the other guys. "Very boring. Nothing worth talking about here."

All three other boys at the table blinked several times in silence at Ferb's rather blatantly obvious attempt to avoid the topic.

"Okay that didn't sound suspicious at all," Django said, looking more intently at Ferb now. "And by that I mean totally suspicious."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Ferb said, still avoiding Django's gaze.

"Dude, Ferb, you're kidding right," Phineas asked, suddenly intensely curious as well about the matter.

"It's only fair to tell us, Ferb," Baljeet added. "Remember, this is the huddle, like Django said."

"Absolutely right," Django said emphatically. "None of us will breathe a word of this to anyone else."

Ferb sighed heavily. "None of you are going to let me get away with not talking are you?"

All three other boys shook their heads at him as they leaned in even closer. Ferb shrunk back a bit and avoided eye contact with them all as he spoke again, quietly.

"Second base. At least I think."

"When did it happen," Phineas asked, unaware of the mad grin on his face now.

"Only just recently," Ferb told him, his face getting redder by the second. "And it was sort of an accident, at least to start."

"Details, man," Django said, egging him on. "Details!"

Ferb sighed again and briefly looked around, wishing their pizza would have arrived by now. With no sign of food on its way he resigned himself to his fate and began to recall the event.

"It was two days ago. I had gone over to Gretchen's house to help her mother with some yard work…"

* * *

_Two days earlier…_

Ferb sat on the front step of the Adler home coated in sweat and dirt. He was leaning back on his arms, which were locked at the elbows to keep him upright. A builder though he may be, a landscaper he was not. Still, when Gretchen had called him the previous day asking on her mother's behalf for his help fixing up their flower beds, he simply could not refuse.

"Here we go," Mrs. Adler said as she emerged from the house with a tall glass of lemonade. Mrs. Adler was quite a bit older than Ferb's mother, but it was clear to tell Gretchen was her daughter as they still looked somewhat similar. She was still a bit taller than her daughter, and her hair was longer and had several gray streaks in it. "Drink up, honey. It's the least I can offer for all your help."

"My pleasure, Mrs. Adler," Ferb said, gratefully taking the drink and immediately guzzling half of it.

"Gretchen is inside making some more up, so don't hesitate to get some more if you want it. I'm going to head to a nursery I'm fond of that's across town to get some more marigolds. I should be back in an hour, give or take."

"I'll be sure to stick around so I can help some more."

"Thank you again so much, Ferb. At least the really hard work is done now, though. Feel free to take a shower too if you like. I know it can go a long way to making you feel human again after doing so much work."

"I think I may do just that if it's alright."

"Of course, dear. You two take it easy, I'll be back in a while."

Ferb finished his lemonade off and waited until he saw Mrs. Adler pull away from the house before he tried standing up. He could already feel where his muscles were beginning to tense and knot up. A hot shower was definitely sounding like a good idea. He left his dirty shoes at the door and made his way through the house slowly, passing by Gretchen who was just about to put the freshly made lemonade in the fridge.

"I never thought I'd see you look this exhausted," she commented as he made his way through. "I thought you and Phineas could do just about anything without breaking a sweat."

"Yes, well, as I have now discovered firsthand building things and landscaping are two completely different beasts," Ferb told her as he put his empty glass down. Gretchen immediately refilled it, adding a couple of ice cubes to it from the freezer.

"There you go. Enjoy."

"You are a life saver," Ferb said, taking another long drink from the glass. "Your mother said I could take a shower, so I think I'll do that if that's alright."

"Fine by me, I'll get you another refill while you clean up. And don't worry; I won't come peeking in on you."

Ferb was about to respond in a similarly witty manner when he felt muscles in his back begin to twinge slightly. He winced as he stopped walking momentarily, which caused Gretchen some alarm.

"Hey, you okay sweetie," she asked with concern.

"Just getting a bit stiff and sore," he told her, managing a smile nonetheless. "No good deed goes unpunished, eh?"

Gretchen frowned at the comment as Ferb forced himself to move a little quicker, heading upstairs to the bathroom for his shower. He didn't take a particularly long shower, not wanting to use too much of the family's available hot water, but by the time he finished he did feel significantly better. Cleaned and re-dressed in his work clothes, Ferb returned to the kitchen where he promptly downed the once again refilled icy glass of lemonade that had been waiting for him. He then walked to the living room where Gretchen was watching something on TV, though it was clear she was fairly disinterested in the program. She got up as soon as he entered the room and pointed to the sofa.

"Lay down," she told him. "Face down."

"Okay," he said curiously. "What's this about, then?"

"I'm going to work out some of those sore muscles in your back before they get too bad."

"It's really not all that bad, Gretchen."

"Just humor me, please Ferb? I couldn't stand that look you had on your face earlier when it was bothering you that badly."

Ferb shook his head and conceded, lying face down on the couch with his head turned away from the TV. Moments later he felt Gretchen's hands on his back, at first gently touching and exploring to find the bad spots. He let himself relax as she carefully rubbed and caressed his back with her hands. After several minutes he felt her stop and assumed she was done with her work until he then felt her weight pressing down on him as she hugged him as best she could from where she knelt next to the sofa.

"Gretchen, are you alright," Ferb asked, turning his head to look at her.

"I just feel a little bad that you had to work so hard at all that stuff," she told him as she sat back on her knees. "However bad you might feel now, I know for a fact it's going to get worse tomorrow. Lactic acid is nobody's friend."

Ferb sat up slowly and took her hands in his. "I'm the one who agreed to it, so I can hardly blame you. Besides, your father has back problems doesn't he? He'd be far worse off than I am if he'd been the one to do all of that. I'm happy to have been a help to your family."

"I know my folks appreciate it, and I'm sure they'll tell you themselves too. I appreciate it too; like you said, it would've been even harder on dad. Still, I hate to see you suffering because of something I asked you to do. I just want to do something nice for you in return."

"Well, I wouldn't mind some company here on the sofa. We could just relax until your mother gets back with the flowers. That is, if you don't mind of course."

"Curl up with my boyfriend on the sofa," she asked, smiling through her blushing. "I would like nothing better. Scoot over."

Ferb moved over and Gretchen quickly sat down next to him. She leaned against him as he moved to slide his arm around her midsection, which was something he'd only recently begun doing. Ferb sighed contentedly, closed his eyes, adjusted his hand up to what he thought was her stomach, and pulled her closer as he began to relax. He didn't register the tiny gasp that came from Gretchen as he squeezed her.

"Uh, Ferb honey," Gretchen said, voice trembling slightly.

"Something wrong," he asked. "Are you not comfortable?"

"No I'm fine, it's just…um…where do you think your hand is?"

"On your stomach."

"You might want to check again…"

Ferb opened his eyes, looked down, and panicked. His right hand was curled around her right breast instead of resting on her stomach as he'd intended. He felt both physically and mentally paralyzed by the blunder. As he stammered unintelligibly trying to simultaneously apologize and explain himself, Gretchen merely placed her hand on top of his and squeezed, causing him to squeeze her again as well. She inhaled sharply at the sudden flood of new sensations and sighed happily as she couldn't help but find them entirely enjoyable.

"It's all right," she told him softly. "I really don't mind. It feels pretty nice. Really nice, in fact."

Ferb still fumbled for words. The irony of wanting to be able to say something but being entirely unable was not lost on him. "But I…it wasn't my intention…I really did think…"

Gretchen turned her head to face him and put a finger on his lips, shushing him. "You're a wonderful guy, Ferb. You mean the world to me. I know you respect me, and trust me when I say I will never let anything happen between us that I'm not fully ready for. I'm certainly nowhere near ready for anything more than this, that's for sure. But I'm definitely cool with this."

Ferb slid his hand up to her hair, stroking it gently as he smiled at her. "What did I ever do to deserve such an amazing girl as my girlfriend?"

"I ask myself the same thing about you all the time," she replied. "Only, swap the 'girl' parts with 'boy' of course."

The two chuckled and then shared a deep and loving kiss. Gretchen broke it off after a few moments. She turned fully towards Ferb and shifted forward, which had the desired effect of slowly pushing him onto his back on the sofa. As he lay down, she guided his hand back to her chest, smiling impishly at him as she did. Ferb still felt incredibly hesitant about it, but as they resumed kissing he ultimately reasoned that if she trusted him that much then he should trust her, as well as himself, an equal amount.

* * *

By the time he finished the story, Ferb's face was as red as a stop sign and Django, Baljeet, and Phineas all stared at him with mouths agape in amazement.

"Yup, that's second base alright," Django said as he shook his head still in disbelief.

"I don't know whether to be in awe or utterly jealous," Baljeet said, now staring at the table.

"I'm in awe," Phineas said resolutely. "Definite awe. That's amazing, bro. I'm guessing you guys stopped before her mom got home, huh?"

"Of course we did," Ferb replied flatly. "What kind of question is that, anyway?"

Phineas bowed his head, embarrassed at his overly naïve question. "Heh, sorry. I guess I just can't help but imagine what it'd be like to get walked in on like that."

"Imagine whatever you like. Just please swear to me none of you will mention any of this outside of here," Ferb pleaded. "I'm pretty sure Gretchen would eviscerate me if she found out."

"Dude, you've got my word," Phineas told him.

"I won't talk," Baljeet added.

"My lips are sealed, man," Django assured him.

"Thanks guys," Ferb said, feeling better after their assurances. "Now where's that pizza? I'm positively ravenous now."

As if on cue, their waiter came by and slid their large supreme pizza onto the table. The four teenage boys immediately left the prior conversation behind in favor of satisfying their growling stomachs. As he ate, though, Ferb couldn't help but think about Gretchen and wonder what her take on that encounter was like.

* * *

By the time she finished her story about what happened between her and Ferb two days ago, Gretchen's face was as red as a stop sign and Isabella, Ginger, and Milly all stared at her with mouths agape in amazement. They were all in Gretchen's bedroom where they had convened for refreshments after helping her weed the flower beds that Ferb had worked so hard to help set up two days earlier.

"_Sugoi_…" Ginger said in a voice just above a whisper.

"Yeah, what she said," Milly added in a likewise tone.

"I would never have thought you had it in you, Gretchen," Isabella told her. "You guys didn't get caught, did you?"

"Of course not," Gretchen told her best friend after rolling her eyes. "We stopped a good fifteen minutes before mom got home just to be safe. I'd rather not think about what would've happened to either of us if we had been caught."

"If it were me, I'd have been grounded from here to eternity," Ginger said fearfully.

"Knowing my mom, she'd have probably done cartwheels on the front lawn," Isabella added in embarrassment.

"Just please swear to me none of you will mention any of this outside of here," Gretchen pleaded. "I'm pretty sure Ferb would plotz if he found out."

"Your secret is safe with us, sweetheart," Milly told her. "But truthfully, now, did you enjoy it?"

"Immensely," Gretchen said emphatically, blushing as she recalled the sensations she'd encountered that day. "Not only physically, though it certainly did feel amazing. Emotionally, it was also incredible. I really do feel even closer to Ferb now than ever before."

"Maybe I'll give it a shot with Phineas sometime," Isabella mused. "I do trust him completely after all, not to mention how much I love him."

"I might have to move that point up on the schedule for Baljeet and me," Ginger added as she began flipping through her day planner.

"I definitely need to at least try the backrub thing with Buford," Milly said, looking completely fascinated at the possibilities.

"Oh great, what have I started," Gretchen said, putting her forehead firmly in the palm of her right hand. As she continued to field questions from the other three girls, she couldn't help but think of Ferb and hope that he didn't have to put up with something similar from any of the guys.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** It's a perfect day for dating, especially for double dates. As Phineas and Ferb split up for the day, though, a twist of fate may bring them all together again anyway for one heck of a showdown!

* * *

**Translation Notes for this chapter**

Ginger: Amazing...

* * *

**Author's Note:** You have no idea how many times I re-wrote Ferb and Gretchen's little intimate scene there. Expect to see more stuff like this in the future, and featuring other couples as well. They are teenagers after all, and it'd be unrealistic to think this sort of thing wouldn't happen between them.


	6. Double Double Date

**Double Double Date**

"You're really not gonna tell me, are you," Phineas said as he continued his interrogation of his brother.

"Absolutely not," Ferb replied, not even making eye contact with Phineas as they left their room.

"What if I bug you incessantly via text messages while you're there?"

"Then you get to explain the cell phone bill to mother when it comes."

"Hmm…hadn't thought of that. Well I could still build a spy drone to follow you around."

"I've already locked up all the tools for the day and I have the key. Besides, you can't build things even a quarter as fast as I can. By the time you were finished, I'd be home already."

"I could sic Irving on you."

Ferb stopped halfway down the stairs, turned, and looked at Phineas disbelievingly. Phineas immediately knew his bluff had been called.

"Yeah, sorry. I was grasping at straws there. I should know better than to threaten with something I'd never actually do."

"Look, just accept that I'm not telling you for once."

"What on earth are you two going on and on about," Candace asked as she stopped by the stairs. She'd heard their conversation from the kitchen and had to come check it out for herself. It was a rare occasion when one of the brothers was being decidedly secretive towards the other.

"Ferb's not telling me where he and Gretchen are heading on their date this afternoon," Phineas told her.

"Because any time I do tell you, you and Isabella just happen to show up to say 'hi' or something," Ferb replied. "For once I'd like a date without any other family popping in on me."

"Don't you have your own date to think about today, Phineas," Candace asked him.

"Isabella's got it covered this time," Phineas replied. "I think we're actually going somewhere with Buford and Milly tonight, but she wanted to keep it a surprise for me."

"A double date," Ferb asked, his curiosity piqued. "That's rare for you guys."

"It's Izzie and Milly's idea. Buford and I are just along for the ride, more or less."

"Well, best of luck to you all then," Ferb said as he finished descending the stairs and headed for the door. "I'll see you later!"

"You'd better get going too," Candace told Phineas as she continued on her way to the living room. "It's never a good idea to keep a girl waiting."

"I still wish I knew what Ferb was doing tonight," Phineas said with a sigh. "But you're right, I can't stay hung up on that all night. Let mom and dad know I'll be back around nine or so."

Candace acknowledged her brother's request, and Phineas headed out from his house and across the street, eager to find out exactly what his girlfriend and Milly had in mind for the afternoon's activities.

* * *

Ferb and Gretchen waved to Mrs. Adler as she drove off and then turned to the entrance of their destination. It was the grand opening of The Fourth Dimension, Danville's latest and greatest entertainment complex that included go karts, miniature golf, a fully loaded arcade, and laser tag.

"I know it must've been hard," Gretchen told him, "but I'm proud of you for not telling Phineas we were coming here."

"Are you kidding," Ferb replied. "Had I told him there's no way we would've been able to shake him. Phineas has been looking forward to this place's grand opening for weeks. Admittedly so have I, but this is one time I was hoping to check something new out without him."

"Well we'll get in there soon as…ah, speak of the devils. Here they come now."

Up pulled another car from which Baljeet and Ginger emerged. Ginger stopped by the driver's side as Baljeet joined Ferb and Gretchen.

"I'll call you when we need a ride back, _onee-san_," she told Stacy. "Now shoo."

"You sure you don't want me to hang around," Stacy asked, poking her head out of the window. "I could run interference so you and 'Jeet could have some alone time."

Ginger folded her arms, not amused with her sister's act. "Your track record says otherwise. It's far more likely that you just want to hang around tease, taunt, and otherwise interfere with our date at every opportunity."

Stacy shook her head at her sister and looked over at Baljeet. "Honestly, Baljeet, I don't know how you put up with such a humorless girl."

Baljeet laughed humorlessly at Stacy's comment and simply waved back to her. Fed up with Stacy's harassment, Ginger whirled and began ushering her boyfriend and companions inside as Stacy finally began pulling away.

"I swear one of these days I'm gonna creep into her room while she's asleep and tie her hair into dozens of tiny knots," Ginger said, positively shaking with aggravation.

"Is she going to be alright," Ferb asked Baljeet.

"Oh yes," Baljeet told him confidently. "She just needs a tranquilizer to help her calm down."

Gretchen was about to ask what Baljeet meant when he stepped up to Ginger, took her into his arms, dipped her, kissed her passionately, and then returned her to her feet. Once upright again, Ginger was smiling and looked much calmer. Baljeet flashed a smile, thumbs up, and wink at his friends.

"Works like a charm every time," he told them happily.

"Alrighty then, what should we hit first," Gretchen asked. "I'm open to suggestions."

"I'm kinda feeling like some miniature golf, actually," Ginger said.

"Which begs the question of if you share any of your sister's unnatural skill at the game," Ferb asked her.

"Why," Ginger asked with a cocky smile on her face. "Afraid you'll lose?"

"Oh it's on now," Gretchen told her. "Two on two, us versus you guys?"

"Losers buy drinks for everyone," Baljeet said as he hooked arms with Ginger.

"To quote my beloved sister from her youth, you are both going down," Ferb told them. He smirked as he put one arm around Gretchen and made a thumbs down sign with his other. "Down, down, down!"

The four all shared a laugh and then rushed out to the miniature golf course just as the place's main doors opened for another four kids to enter.

"I know I'm gonna start sounding like a broken record here," Phineas said as he looked around the place in amazement, "but I love you, Isabella."

"Oh trust me," she replied with a giggle, "I will never get tired of hearing that."

"Hey, this was my idea too y'know," Milly added in a mock disappointed tone.

"Don't pay Dinner Bell any mind, sweetheart," Buford told her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "He's just geekin' out."

"Oh I know, I just have to give him a bit of a hard time is all," Milly told him. "After Isabella mentioned how much Phineas was looking forward to checking this place out when it opened, I figured it was a no-brainer for a double date spot. However…"

Milly stepped away from Buford momentarily and passed a hand in front of Phineas' face. He didn't even so much as blink as she did. Clearly the total spectacle of The Fourth Dimension had entranced him completely.

" Should we give him some alone time to adjust, Izzie," she asked, looking concerned.

"Oh no, I know how to handle this," Isabella told her. She silently stepped up alongside Phineas and gently blew into his ear. Phineas reacted with a full body shiver as he snapped out of his trance.

"Thanks, I needed that," Phineas told her, coming to his senses.

"So what're we gonna do first," Buford asked. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm craving some action. Go carts sound good to me."

"Aww, but I was hoping we could hit the arcade for just a bit first," Milly said. She turned to Buford and batted her long eyelashes at him. "That is, if you don't mind honey."

"Like I said, we're doin' go carts right after we're done in the arcade first," Buford told Phineas and Isabella. Milly rejoiced, gave Buford a quick kiss, and then headed off to the arcade hanging on his arm.

"What just happened," Phineas asked, blinking in disbelief.

"I've always wondered if underneath that sweet exterior Milly was actually a dark sorceress," Isabella said. "I think I just got my proof."

Phineas shrugged and offered Isabella his arm. "Well whatever the case, let's get our game on."

Isabella laced her arm through Phineas' and the two headed off after Buford and Milly, eager to get their double date properly underway.

* * *

Ferb took his time lining up his final putt, as the whole match was riding on it. He tested the wind direction, checked his line, determined the angles he'd need to hit, and with measured precision hit his putt. The ball rolled along, caroming off of walls, around a curve, and through a tunnel as it made its way along the ridiculous route to the hole. He and Gretchen held their breath as they watched it roll towards the hole, and then at the last moment swerve to one side and roll right past it. Ferb hung his head in despair as Ginger and Baljeet celebrated.

"Victory is ours," Baljeet proclaimed. "It was a good game, Ferb. You only lost by one stroke."

"At least it was immediately evident that Ginger was bluffing all along," Ferb commented. "You could've said up front that you weren't as good at the game as Stacy."

"You're the one who assumed as much," Ginger replied. "Besides, with as little as Stacy and I have in common, is it all that surprising?"

"Note to self," Gretchen said, quickly producing a pen and notepad and scribbling on it. "Insist on full disclosure before making bets in the future."

"Nonetheless, fair is fair," Ferb stated, conceding the game. "Let's hit the food court for some refreshments. I'll cover the whole deal."

"You are as gracious as you are brilliant, Ferb," Ginger told him with a graceful curtsey. "Let's head on in."

The way to the food court led the group past the entrance to the arcade. As they approached, they couldn't help but hear raucous cheering coming from inside. Baljeet stopped and poked his head inside briefly, curious about what was going on. The crowd was dense so he couldn't see very far inside, but he did make out that they were all gathered around a popular rhythm and music game.

"There must be a real master up there playing," Baljeet said as he quickly rejoined Ginger and the others. "People are cheering quite vigorously."

"I prefer playing actual music, myself," Ferb noted. "But those kind of games can be fun, especially to watch people who're particularly good at them."

"That's for sure. I remember seeing a video online recently for one that was amazing. It was of this older song that I'm not terribly familiar with, but it was a perfect playthrough on the hardest setting. Many of the comments on the video were, sadly, claiming that it was actually a program playing the song and not a person. Frankly, I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt about such things. It certainly seemed genuine to me."

"That's quite interesting. I'll have to look it up sometime. Who was the poster of the video?"

"I only remember their account name, which was 'MotherofDarkness'. Whoever it is, they've got quite a few videos of this kind posted."

"That seems to speak to it being genuine, at least to me. I'll check it out sometime."

Upon reaching the food court, the girls opted to find a table while the boys headed to the counter to get food. Gretchen sat across from Ginger and, after watching to make sure Ferb and Baljeet were out of earshot, she turned excitedly to Ginger.

"So, how's it going with you guys," she asked. "I've been dying for an update!"

"As great as ever, though right now I'm staying the course with BJ," Ginger said, using her personal shortened nickname for Baljeet. "But I know when I'm going to make my move to take things a little further with him: the Tri-State Area Japanese Festival."

Gretchen raised an eyebrow at the mention of the event. "We have something like that?"

"I'm not surprised you don't know about it; it's not exactly a huge deal since there aren't many people of Japanese descent around here. But it's basically our own _o-bon_ festival. It takes place in mid-July and it's just like the ones they hold all over Japan. There'll be games and food, fireworks, dancing, and of course all the women come dressed in _yukata_."

"You-what-a?"

"_Yukata_. It's a summery type of _kimono_. "

"Ah, I getcha. I wish I could pull off wearing one of those. They look so pretty."

"I'm sure we could find one for you if you'd like. I think you'd look really pretty in one. But then, I think everyone looks good in _yukata_."

"If you're sure…"

"I may not be the fashion plate Stacy is, but I do have an eye for this sort of thing at least. Maybe we can get all the girls to come out for it! I would love to have more people come, whether they're Japanese or not."

"Let's talk about it with Ferb and Baljeet when they get back. I'm sure we can get them on board."

The two continued to chatter away about the boys, their quirks and habits as they waited for refreshments, completely oblivious to the group of familiar friends that had just exited the arcade and headed for the go-karts.

* * *

The arcade portion of The Fourth Dimension was loaded mainly with dance and music games, though with a few old school arcade machines along the walls. Phineas, Isabella, Buford, and Milly were standing by a guitar-based music game awaiting a turn to play it while a number of other kids who were clearly quite good at the game played song after song. In fact, they were outright monopolizing the machine and it was beginning to irritate many of the other kids present who began jeering them to give someone else a turn.

"They probably just want to rack up the high scores on all the songs before anyone else has a chance," Phineas said, frowning at the group as they continued to play regardless of the crowd.

"It's just not fair," Isabella said, getting downright angry about it. "I'll go set them straight."

"Now now," Milly said, putting her hands on Isabella's shoulders. "No need to get cross about it. Let me talk to them for a moment."

"But Milly, they're not gonna listen to you no matter how nice you are to them."

"Just trust me, Izzie." Milly winked at her as she turned and approached the game.

"Buford, aren't you gonna stop her," Isabella asked, looking at the massive boy.

"You kiddin'," Buford asked right back. "Just watch."

"Excuse me, boys," Milly said, getting the group's attention after their most recent song finished. "There are a lot of other people who want a chance to play here today. Do you suppose you could just take a small break and let others have a turn?"

"Sorry, little miss manners," the boy with the guitar controller said, sneering at her. "But we aim to dominate this game and we aren't giving it up until we've got the high scores on every single song."

"I called it," Phineas noted, which earned him an elbow in the side from Buford.

"I see," Milly said. "Well, what if I beat one of your high scores? Would that be enough to make you stop for a while, then?"

The group of boys broke into raucous laughter. "You? Beat us? Heck, if you can beat any of my high scores we'll leave for the rest of the day!"

"Alright then, it's a bet," Milly said, stepping up to the game. The boy just scoffed as he handed her the guitar controlled. Milly took a moment to adjust the strap so it sat comfortably for her and then began scrolling through the songs until she found the one she wanted: "Bark at the Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne. The group of boys laughed even harder, until they saw her set the difficulty to its maximum level.

"By the way boys," she said, her voice dropping from its usual sweet sound to one much deeper and sultry. "It's not little miss manners. I'd prefer you called me by my actual handle…Mother of Darkness."

The group of boys froze in place. All of them were familiar with the name from the Internet, and up until the song started were still in disbelief of who now stood before them. As soon as Milly began playing, however, there was no doubt of who she was. Her fingers were a blur as they danced along the guitar. Sweat beaded on her forehead as her eyes and hands raced to keep up with the notes as they came. She added dramatic flourishes to her performance, at times even looking away from the screen while she played. The crowd around her, save the group of boys she had ousted from the game, cheered louder and louder as she continued her perfect run of the song. It ended with a rapid-fire set of notes that she hit without missing even one. She raised her hands in the air in victory as her final score registered as the new high score for the song, eliciting an enormous cheer from the amassed audience. After putting the initials "MoD" in to register the score, she handed the guitar controller to a young boy who jumped up to start playing before stepping over to the group of boys who she has, essentially, just hustled out of the game.

"Remember, boys," she said, once again back to her sweet-sounding voice. "Play nice, or Mother will have to teach you another lesson. Understand?"

"Y-yes ma'am!" The group of boys responded in unison. They departed from the arcade immediately after. Milly then sighed and turned back to her own friends, who were also dumbstruck at her performance with the exception of Buford. He merely smiled and nodded at his girlfriend.

"You really knocked 'em dead up there, babe," he told her, kissing her briefly as she stepped up to him.

"Thanks hon," she said, sighing contentedly. "I felt a little bad tricking them like that, but they gave me no alternative."

"I have never seen someone shred like that on that game before," Phineas said, still stunned by the performance.

"Well, I was the only one of us to get her 'Guitar Heroine' patch," Milly told him proudly.

"You really are a dark sorceress, aren't you," Isabella asked, also still amazed at what she'd just seen.

"I can't help it, I've always liked Ozzy," Milly told her. "And classic rock in general, for that matter. It's way better than modern pop stuff. Not that I don't enjoy the music you guys make every now and again, I'm just a little old fashioned is all."

"Nothin' wrong with that in my book," Buford told her as he picked her up in a huge bear hug, which was met with a burst of giggles from her. He put her down a moment later, grinning at her. "Gotta respect the classics."

"You still wanna hit the go carts, baby," Milly asked him. "I'm done in here for now, I think."

Buford nodded at her. "If you're ready, doll, I am."

"How about you, Phineas," Isabella asked, looking at him. Phineas smiled at her.

"I've got the need," he said, reaching into his pocket. He produced a pair of mirrored sunglasses and put them on dramatically. "The need for speed."

"Dinner Bell's all fired up," Buford noted, grinning even wider. "This is gonna be fun."

Phineas, with an uncharacteristically devious smile on his face, quickly led the way through the remaining crowd out of the arcade and through the complex towards the go carts for a friendly race; one in which he intended to crush Buford.

* * *

It was an inevitable event, no matter how you considered it. Two groups of such close friends arriving separately at the same destination for a double date were bound to discover each other at some point during the day. It nonetheless blew both Phineas' and Ferb's minds when they both stepped up to the same attendant in charge of laser tag at the same time. They stood silently blinking at each other for a full minute as their friends simply looked on, a mixture of dismay and amusement among their expressions.

"Well…this is awkward," Phineas commented finally.

"To say the least," Ferb replied. "I take it you guys were planning on coming here all along, then? Seeing as how I never told you we were coming here."

"Yeah, Isabella and Milly picked the destination. Buford and I didn't know until we got here."

"Gretchen and I had been planning on coming here for about a week. Ginger asked if she and Baljeet could come as well."

"Considering the lengths you went to keep this a secret from me, this rates pretty high on the irony meter, dude."

"I know, I know. Well, we're all here now. What do we do? We can't exactly carry on acting like we don't know each other is here."

Phineas stroked his chin as he thought for a moment about what to do next. The answer didn't take long to come to him, as he simply looked back at where they had both met up.

"Excuse me," Phineas said, looking back at the attendant. "Is there any chance we could arrange a laser tag match between two teams of four?"

"Certainly," the attendant told him cheerily. "I'll just need a few minutes to configure the system for the match."

"Are you sure about this, Phineas," Ferb asked, cocking an eyebrow at his brother.

"I know we don't usually compete like this, but it might be kinda fun. Besides, it's just laser tag. It's not like anyone could get hurt doing it."

Ferb considered the prospect of going up against his brother for once instead of working with him, and a slow smile spread across his face. It was time to have some fun with Phineas.

"That's all well and good," Ferb told him, "but that's not what I'm concerned about."

"Oh? Then what is?"

"Well, I mean, it seems odd to me that you'd set yourself up for a challenge where it's obvious you're going to lose."

Phineas laughed and folded his arms. "Oh really?"

"We're clearly the more agile and, no offense, overall smarter team," Ferb boasted. "You don't stand a chance."

"I don't stand a chance? Me, with a former Fireside Girls Troop Leader and the toughest guy in Danville among my team members?"

"Oh please. Your 'Angry Wall of Meat' will be a walking target."

"And you guys will be too busy calculating angles and probabilities to even shoot at us."

The two step-brothers smiled at each other, both now fully aware of the game before them. They then quickly turned and walked back to their respective teams. If the match had been at all uncertain before, it was a sure thing now.

"So what's the plan," Baljeet asked Ferb as he returned to them. "Are we taking turns or something?"

"We're going up against them," Ferb said, looking back at his brother and his group briefly. "And we're taking them down."

"Have you lost your mind, Ferb," Ginger asked, feeling rather daunted by the proposition. "Look who we're up against!"

"And who knows them better than us," Ferb asked her. "I know exactly the sort of tricks and tactics Phineas will have them employ. Baljeet, no one knows how Buford operates better than you. Ginger, you spent years working with Milly as a Fireside Girl and you were far more decorated than she was. And of course Gretchen…"

"Just hold it right there, Ferb," Gretchen told him as she slowly stepped up to him. She folded her arms as she looked up at her boyfriend, who suddenly looked a bit intimidated by her. "I know exactly what you're about to say. After all, I've been Isabella's best friend and right hand since we were little kids. If there's anyone who knows how to push her buttons and take her down, it's me. And you expect me to simply use that knowledge and basically totally betray my best friend in order to help ensure our victory?"

"Well…um…I perhaps didn't mean it quite so menacingly…" Ferb said, taken aback at how Gretchen had summed up her role in the match. "If you're really that averse to the idea I-"

"Are you kidding," Gretchen said, grabbing Ferb by his shirt and dragging him down to her eye level. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for an opportunity like this? Isabella's a great friend to me, but I've always wanted a clean chance to test myself against her."

"You're really quite into this, aren't you," Ferb asked, smirking at her.

Gretchen grinned right back at him. "Sweetie, you have no idea."

"I must admit," Baljeet added, "I wouldn't mind even a little revenge on Buford for all the wedgies."

"And Milly has always seemed a little too sweet and perfect to me," Ginger also added.

"Alright then," Ferb said, grinning as he gathered his team members together. "Let's get to planning."

While Ferb had been rallying his group, Phineas had returned to his group and told them of the coming match as well.

"Phineas, are you sure this is a good idea," Milly asked, looking back and forth between the other group and theirs. "I'm good at music games, but I've never done this before. Plus, I was of the impression you weren't all that competitive really."

"Speak for yourself, babe," Buford said, grinning at Phineas. "It's kinda refreshing to see Dinner Bell manning up for once."

"Trust me, this'll be a lot of fun Milly," Phineas said somewhat defensively. "Besides, Ferb's the one who said we didn't stand a chance because his team was smarter and faster than us. And that's word for word exactly what he said."

"Oh no he di'n't," Isabella said resentfully, complete with appropriate head motion. "I know for a fact we could take them. What do you think, Buford?"

"I've had 'Jeet's number for years," he said, cracking his knuckles. "This'll be business as usual for me."

"Ferb can be tricky to play against," Phineas noted, stroking his chin as he thought. "But I'm familiar with just about all of his strategies in any kind of game. I know we can counter him."

"What about you, Milly," Isabella asked, stepping up to her as she spoke. "If you don't want to play we can see if Ferb's team will sit someone out."

Milly shook her head. "If Buford is in then so am I. Truthfully, I've always wanted a chance to be side-by-side with my honey in a competition of some kind."

"You sure about this, doll," Buford asked, looking at her with some concern.

"Absolutely," she told him, touching his face gently. "In fact, sweetie, I find the idea of going into battle alongside you to be…well, exhilarating."

As soon as Milly stepped back from Buford, he turned towards their opponents who were still huddled across the way and took a deep breath.

"We're gonna stomp every single one of youse into the ground," he shouted. "You ain't got a prayer of beatin' us, ya hear me?"

"You have a dark gift, Milly," Isabella said quietly to her as they watched Buford continue ranting while Phineas tried to get him to calm down. "I hope you only ever use it for good."

"Oh, I just know what buttons to press with him," Milly said, giggling. "I'm sure you can do much the same with Phineas."

Isabella just laughed nervously to herself. Milly didn't know about the incident earlier that summer at her "intimate get-together", and it wasn't the sort of thing she was about to make a topic of conversation at the moment. At the moment her focus was rallying with the members of her group so they were prepared for the coming challenge.

* * *

It wasn't long before the laser tag arena was properly configured for a four-on-four match. The rules were simple: electronic targets were placed on each player's chest and back, with another in the helmets they all wore as well. A direct hit would render a player unable to fire or be hit again for ten seconds. After five hits, a player would be eliminated from the game. If one team were entirely eliminated, the other would be the winner. Otherwise, the team that scored the most hits within the ten-minute timeframe would be declared the winner. In the case of a tie, the highest scoring player from each team would participate in a sudden death match to determine the winner.

Both teams huddled in their waiting rooms as the timer counted down to the beginning of the match. As soon as the timer hit zero, the doors to the arena flew open and the players rushed in and began their hunt. The sound of laser fire filled the room as both teams began employing their tactics. Baljeet and Ginger stuck together, attempting to find and pin down as many of their opponents as they could. Ferb and Gretchen, meanwhile, split off in separate directions in order to snipe at targets from the perimeter. Phineas, Buford, and Milly all stuck together and began sweeping the perimeter while Isabella cut through the center, attempting to draw fire and harass anyone she came across. It didn't take long for her to come face-to-face with Gretchen. They stopped where they were and kept their guns trained on each other.

"Hello Gretchen," Isabella said pleasantly. "I was hoping I'd find you first."

"Oh trust me," Gretchen replied, "I was hoping for the exact same thing."

"I don't suppose you're going to be a nice, easy target for me, are you?"

"After all these years together, you really should know me better."

"So how's this gonna shake down, then?"

"Simple: forget the others. We go one-on-one in here, and we answer a question that's actually been bugging me since we oversaw that Fireside Girls challenge. Which of us really is the better Fireside Girl? I think I know the answer, the only question is are you ready to deal with it?"

"Gretchen…" Isabella said her name in quiet awe. She temporarily lowered her gun and smiled at her longtime friend. "Wow, that was amazing! I honestly got shivers just now."

"Thanks," Gretchen replied, laughing nervously. "I was hoping it wasn't too over-the-top there."

"Oh no way, you've really got the vengeful sidekick thing down!"

"Really? I've always wanted a chance to try an act like this."

"Totally, you've got the character down. I'm really impressed."

"I'm thinking of using it to try out for the drama club next school year. You think it'll work?"

"Oh no doubt about it. I'll even help you practice it more sometime if you like."

"Thanks Izzie. So, uh…I guess we should get back to the game, huh?"

"Only if you want. Truth be told, I just played up my interest because Phineas seemed to be really keen on it."

"Yeah, I pretty much did the same for Ferb's sake. You wanna just hunker down and chill out until this is over?"

"Cool with me," Isabella said, sitting down next to Gretchen in an isolated corner of the arena. "So how's your double date been so far today?"

As the two began trading stories about their respective days, elsewhere the actual match raged on. Baljeet and Ginger continually fell back as the massive group of Buford, Milly, and Phineas continued to bear down on them. Ferb finally circled around behind them and suddenly the trio found themselves in a crossfire. Phineas peeled off from the group while Buford and Milly hunkered down. He headed straight for Ferb, though they both ended up trying to snipe at each other from cover.

"Give it up, Ferb," Phineas called out to him from behind his wall. "I've been keeping count, and we got a ton of hits on you guys before you finally got behind us!"

"Is that desperation I hear in your voice," Ferb called back. "By my count we're pretty even! Not to mention I'll bet Gretchen is having a field day with Isabella."

"Ha! Isabella's probably lit your girl up like a Christmas tree dude!"

Ferb took the opportunity while Phineas was talking to creep around his piece of cover, trying to flank his brother. As soon as he slid around the corner, he bumped right into Phineas who had been doing the same thing while he talked. They stopped, slowly turned to face each other, and began chuckling at each other. It eventually turned into raucous laughter as they realized how ridiculous they were being.

"Dude, this is the second time we've done this to ourselves this summer now," Phineas said once he caught his breath from laughing. "What the heck?"

"I believe this is what Candace was warning us about a few years ago when we became teenagers," Ferb told him. "Remember her stories about some of Jeremy and Coltrane's arguments?"

"Ah yes. I remember we told her we'd never do that sort of thing."

"Indeed. So what condiment of choice will you go with to eat those words? I'm going with mayonnaise, myself."

"Ugh. Seriously? You put mayo on everything, Ferb."

"That's because it goes well with everything."

"If you say so. I think I'll stick with mustard."

"Real mustard or yellow stuff?"

"Hey, yellow stuff is mustard too!"

Ferb shook his head and laughed. "Come on, let's find the girls and then see if Buford and Baljeet are done shooting at each other."

Ferb hooked an arm around Phineas' shoulders as the two wandered off to find their girlfriends, tuning out the barrage of name-calling accompanied by laser fire that was going on behind them.

* * *

A short while later, all eight teens were gathered around a table at the food court, once again talking amiably amongst themselves. They'd let the match end in a tie and now viewed their momentary competitiveness with amusement.

"All I'm saying is this whole mess could've been avoided had you just told me where you were going," Phineas told Ferb as he took another sip from his soda.

"And all I'm saying is it was still none of your business," Ferb replied before munching on another French fry. "Sometimes, Phineas, I do want to do my own thing."

"And sometimes I'm just honestly curious, Ferb. Seriously. I just wanted to know was all."

"I suppose we could both have done a better job communicating that to each other."

"No arguments there."

"So what're you guys going to do from here on out? The day's still quite young."

"I dunno," Phineas said with a shrug. He turned to Isabella, who sat just to his right. "Any thoughts?"

"I think Buford and Milly are gonna hit the arcade again," Isabella replied. "That's not so much my thing, honestly."

"Baljeet and I are gonna go do go karts next," Ginger added.

"How about you, love," Ferb asked Gretchen.

"I heard there's supposed to be a whole row of photo machines in the arcade," Gretchen said. "I would like some pictures if you don't mind."

"I guess we're all gonna go do our own thing for a bit," Phineas noted. "I'm sure we'll find something else to do as well."

"We'll catch you guys later, then," Ferb told him. He got up, hugged Phineas from across the table briefly, and then took Gretchen by the hand as she led the way towards the arcade. Little by little, the others peeled away from the table as well, finally leaving Phineas and Isabella alone.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions on what to do," Phineas said, folding his hands behind his head.

"How about a game of mini golf," Isabella asked. "We can even bet on each hole."

"What would we bet?"

Isabella winked and smiled suggestively at him. "Winner gets to kiss the loser on each hole."

Phineas grinned widely. "Now those are some stakes I can play for."

Isabella laced her arm through Phineas' as they headed for their game of mini golf. It perhaps hadn't turned out to be the day they'd intended to have at the outset, but Isabella was quite accustomed by now to making the best of whatever situation presented itself. And truthfully, for her any chance to spend time with the boy who she was realizing with every passing day was the love of her life was heaven on earth.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Katie finally gets that magical ticket to freedom known to teenagers as a driver's license! But what should have been a simple trip to Slushy Dawg for her and Adyson turns into an epic journey that neither of them will ever forget.


	7. Katie and Adyson Go to Slushy Dawg

**Katie and Adyson Go to Slushy Dawg**

Katie shut herself into her room, tossed her purse onto her bed, and squealed in delight. It was time to commence with her personal celebration. She took a few moments to quickly slip on her ballet slippers and hit "Play" on the classical music playlist on her iPod. As beautiful, classical music filled the air she pirouetted, pranced, and leapt about her room. Years of classes, practice, and training had taught her well how to express her emotions through dance, with ballet being her favorite style. Through it, she was the very embodiment of joy. As the music came to an end she finished her impromptu dance and simply fell back onto her bed, kicking her legs in the air as she giggled in glee again. She reached over to her purse, fished out her wallet, and opened it. From it she pulled a pink card that she looked at fondly, her eyes positively sparkling.

It was an official Tri-State Area Driver's License with her full name, Katherine Martinov, prominently displayed along with a photo of her smiling brilliantly. Months of classes, several driving classes, and two attempts at her driver's test had finally paid off. She sighed contentedly and, still holding her brand new license in one hand, fished her cell phone out of her purse with her other hand and hit her first speed dial. Three rings later, just like always, Adyson picked up on the other end.

"What's up, Katie," Adyson asked.

"I got it," Katie said, giggling madly into her phone.

"Got what?"

"It!"

"Okay…is it contagious?"

"No, but you're gonna wish you had it too!"

"Katie, what on earth are you talking abou-"

"I got my driver's license!"

The next three minutes consisted of both girls screaming over their phones to each other.

"We've got to go somewhere," Adyson exclaimed once they were finished screaming.

"I know," Katie practically yelled back. "But where?"

"It's what…11:30 AM now. Let's go get lunch!"

"Yes! Lunch! At Mr. Slushy Dawg! We've gotta tell Gretchen about it!"

"How soon can you be here?"

"I'm changing my shoes now! I'll be at your house in a few minutes. In a car! That I'll be driving by myself!"

"I know!"

The girls screamed at each other for another minute before Katie finally ended the call. She grabbed her purse, put her license carefully back in her wallet which then went into the purse, and then headed for her mother's car, which she'd been given full access to for the day as her reward for getting her license. As she started it up and carefully pulled out of the driveway, internally she was still dancing and rejoicing at her newfound freedom. This was definitely going to be a day for the history books.

* * *

A scant five minutes later, Katie had pulled up to Adyson's house to find her best friend waiting anxiously in the driveway for her. As soon as she stepped out of the car after parking it and turning it off, Adyson all but tackled her with a hug. The two of them positively bounced with joy at the prospect of the new level of freedom Katie's driver's license would no doubt bring them.

"Let's get this show on the road," Adyson said, quickly running to the passenger's side. Katie ducked right back into the driver's seat. They both buckled themselves in, locked the doors, and Katie prepared to turn the car back on. She then paused as a slightly concerning thought occurred to her.

"What's wrong," Adyson asked, seeing her friend's hesitation. "Lunch isn't gonna come to us."

"This is really embarrassing to say," Katie said, sitting back and laughing nervously. "But for all the times I've been to Mr. Slushy Dawg…I, uh, don't actually know how to get there."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do I sound like I'm kidding? I never really paid attention to the directions."

"It's Mr. Slushy Dawg, Katie. There's gotta be, like, signs and stuff that'll point the way for us. Just start driving. We're bound to find it soon enough."

Figuring that Adyson had a valid point, Katie started the car, pulled out of the driveway, and got them underway on their journey. Adyson queued up some music for them so Katie could focus on driving. As they turned corners and drove along, it was shaping up to be quite a liberating and enjoyable drive.

Fifteen minutes later, however, their enjoyment of driving around aimlessly had sharply decreased.

"Have you seen any signs for them yet," Katie asked, feeling a little paranoid about splitting her attention between the road and looking for anything that might point them in the direction of the restaurant.

"Not one," Adyson replied flatly. "This is crazy! How can it be this hard to find the place?"

"I told you before we got going I didn't know where it was. You're the one who assumed it'd be clearly pointed out to us."

"Yeah, this one's on me. Sorry."

"It's okay, but what're we gonna do now? I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get hungry."

"Wait a sec," Adyson said, slapping her forehead. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before. I'll just call Gretchen and get directions straight from her."

"Yes! And be sure to tell her we're driving there on our own too."

Adyson hit her speed dial for Gretchen's phone and waited patiently for her to pick up, which she did several rings later.

"This had better be good, Adyson," she said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "I can't really take personal calls while I'm on the job."

"This won't take long," Adyson assured her. "Katie got her driver's license and we're trying to come to Mr. Slushy Dawg for lunch. We just need directions is all."

"How can you not know how to get here? It's Mr. Slushy Dawg, for crying out loud."

Adyson sighed in mild frustration. "I know, it's silly. But can you please just help us out here?"

"Okay, okay. Jeez it's cold in here."

"You guys have the AC turned up or something?"

"No, I'm heading into the freezer for some more supplies for up front. Now where are you guys?"

"We just passed Marsh Drive on I-55."

"Oh, well it's easy then. Just turn right on Pl…and then go…until you reach…side Drive. Then…"

"Gretchen, you're cutting out. I didn't catch half of that."

"Sorry, recep…so good in the free…all you have to do is get to…th street and you can't miss it."

"What was that? What street?"

"Look, I'm sorry Adyson but I have to hang up now. I've got a huge box of frozen hot dogs and I can't talk on the phone in the store front. Tell Katie congrats for me on the license and I'll see you guys when you get here!"

Adyson tried to get Gretchen to give her the directions one last time, but Gretchen ended the call before she could ask. She closed her phone and put it back in her purse.

"So, did you get directions," Katie asked as they came to a stop sign.

"Yeah, of course I did," Adyson replied, feigning confidence as best she could. She looked at the street signs and saw they were at the corner of Marsh and Plymouth Road. She remembered the first street Gretchen had mentioned had started with a "Pl" and figured that was it. She pointed to the street and said, "Make a right here."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm just telling you what she told me. I really doubt Gretchen would steer us wrong."

"That's true. Well, just give me a decent heads up before we come to another turn I need to make."

"Absolutely. Once we finally get there it's gonna rock!"

Thus did the girls carry on with their journey, not realizing that the street they'd actually needed – Plains Avenue - was four blocks further than where Adyson had directed Katie to turn. Blissfully ignorant of the mistake, they resumed listening to music and simply enjoying the open road and the freedom of being able to travel it without adult supervision.

* * *

"I'm beginning to think we may have made a wrong turn somewhere," Adyson noted.

"What was your first clue," Katie asked, now seriously annoyed. "The fact that we haven't found Mr. Slushy Dawg yet? Or the fact that **we're not even in Danville anymore!**"

Adyson sighed and shook her head as she looked in the rear view mirror on her side of the car. The "Thanks for visiting Danville" sign continued to shrink in the background as they continued driving.

"Look, I'm sorry okay," Adyson told her. "Gretchen had bad reception and I only got broken directions from her. I thought I could figure it out on my own from what I'd heard. This one's on me too."

Katie took a moment to consider Adyson's explanation and then just nodded to her. "You can make up for it by paying for gas once we're done with this trip. For now let's at least head back into town. I'll turn us around at the next exit I see."

"Hey, check it out," Adyson said, pointing ahead of them. "Is that a hitchhiker?"

Katie looked to the side of the road ahead and, sure enough, there was a guy walking on the other side of the road back towards Danville with his right thumb stuck out as he looked for a ride.

"That's pretty creepy," Katie noted. "I didn't think people still did that."

"Whoever it is, he must be some poor slob to not even be able to afford a ride into town," Adyson added with a laugh. Her laugh abated as they drew closer to the hitchhiker. Her jaw all but went through the floor of the car as she got a better look at him. "Oh my gosh, it's Django!"

"What the heck is he doing out here?"

"Like I know! Get us turned around quick, Katie."

"There's an exit just ahead, hang on."

A couple minutes later, the girls had turned around and caught up with Django. They stopped the car a bit ahead of where he was walking and Adyson immediately got out and walked up to him.

"Okay, I'm dying to hear the explanation for this," she told him, folding her arms as she stood before him. "How'd you end up clear out here?"

"Nice to see you too, Adyson," Django told her with a smile. He waved at Katie, who was still walking over to them. "Hey Katie. Congrats on your driver's license."

"How'd you know," Katie asked.

"How else would you have gotten out here by yourselves?"

"Oh. Heh, yeah. True enough."

"Enough pleasantries," Adyson said, leaning towards him now. "Make with the explaining."

"Well it's like this," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I was at Mr. Slushy Dawg with Baljeet and Ginger having a good time talking to them. Baljeet started talking about the sports statistics he was working on for the football team and I made a few offhand comments about how silly and stupid I think football is and how it's not that great a sport and so on. Well, wouldn't you know it, Buford and a few of his teammates had been there as well and kinda overheard me. Next thing I know I'm in a sack, tossed in the back of some pickup truck, and driven out here where they left me. I started walking back and figured I'd try to hitch a ride if I could. That's when you two came along."

"You have really got to learn when to shut up, Django," Adyson told him. "Hasn't your mouth gotten you in enough trouble already since you got back?"

"At least you can't fault me for being honest," he replied with a shrug. "So what brings you two to the outskirts of Danville? It's not exactly all that scenic out here."

"We're uh…trying to get to Mr. Slushy Dawg," Katie admitted bashfully.

"You do know it's not out here, right?"

"Gee, ya think," Adyson said sarcastically. "We've been having trouble with directions to get there."

"It's Mr. Slushy Dawg. How can you not-"

Adyson glared daggers at him. "Do not finish that thought."

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. With how you're acting you'd think you two had been on the road for an hour trying to find the place."

Both girls remained silent at his comment. Django narrowed his eyes at them.

"You've been on the road for an hour trying to find it, haven't you?"

Both girls nodded silently in response to his question. Django couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Okay, how about this then," he said as he started walking to the car. "You girls give me a lift back into town; I'll help you get to Mr. Slushy Dawg. It's an even trade."

"You know how to get there," Katie asked, suddenly delighted at the prospect at actually finishing their journey.

"I wouldn't be much of a teenage guy if I didn't."

Katie smiled brilliantly again. "I'm cool with it. How about you, Adyson?"

Adyson threw her hands into the air as she headed back to her seat in the car. "So long as he doesn't stink up the car, I'm okay."

Django smiled as he got into the back seat. "Relax, I showered this morning. And brushed my teeth."

Adyson looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be."

"And how sure are you about your directions?"

"Just as sure."

"You sure that you're sure?"

"As sure as I am that this is surely a silly line of questioning."

"Surely you're just joking with me now."

"I am not joking. And don't call me Shirley."

The two childhood friends stared hard at each other, trying to look serious for as long as possible before they both broke up laughing. Katie simply shook her head as she turned the car on once again, put it into drive, and resumed their trek back into town. In her mind, Adyson really needed to get over herself and just try dating Django already. To her, they were already almost as perfect a couple as Phineas and Isabella.

* * *

True to his word, Django did seem to know the layout of Danville fairly well. Once they were back into familiar territory, he guided Katie along various streets and roads and they did start recognizing some landmarks. Both girls relaxed quite a bit as a result, and the drive was enjoyable once again.

"I kept telling him: Look, Martin, you can't trust everything on the Internet," Django said, continuing a story he'd begun telling them. "But he was dead certain the person he'd been chatting with online for those three weeks was a girl who was really into him. So when they finally set a day and time to meet face-to-face he brought me with him so he could prove me wrong in person."

"What happened," Adyson said, listening intently. She had been hanging on his every word.

"Well, CuteThang947 showed up alright. And they really were into Martin, just like he figured. But, well…the part where he thought it was a girl was way off."

Adyson gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. "It was a guy?"

"Oh yeah. His name was Victor, and he was most certainly gay. Martin ran off screaming, and it was all I could do to not bust a gut laughing. That is, until I saw how broken up Vic was about it. I spent the next five minutes explaining to him that Martin didn't swing that way. He was really pretty upset. Apparently he'd really gotten to like Martin over the Internet."

"That had to have been rough for him," Katie noted.

Django nodded as he sat back again. "It was, but he got over it. He and I are pretty decent friends now to boot. Vic's pretty cool, and he knows I'm not gay so he's never tried to hit on me. Though every time Martin sees him at school he turns and starts walking in the opposite direction. It's hilarious."

"I'm surprised you became friends with him," Adyson said, turning around to face him. "I mean, isn't that kinda awkward?"

"Why should it be," Django asked her. "So he's gay; big deal. It's not my thing, but that's not gonna stop me from being friends with him. There's more to people than just their sexual orientation. It's kind of like you and me in a way. I may not agree with everything you say or do, Adyson, but I know there's more to you than that. Our differences aren't nearly enough to make me not like you."

Adyson fell silent and turned back around in her seat. Katie was able to see her out of the corner of her eye well enough to see that she was both smiling and blushing after what Django had said. Rather than rib her about it, she simply refocused on driving. She wanted to help foster whatever feelings Adyson had for Django, not annoy her so much that she'd push him away like what had happened at the party earlier that month.

"After this stop light we'll go through two more intersections," Django told Katie as they pulled to a stop. "Then it's just a few more turns and we'll be there."

"Who needs a GPS when we have you, Django," Katie said with a smile.

"Hey, it's the least I could do since you got me back into town. Who knows how long it would've taken me to walk back home?"

Katie was about to comment further, but suddenly felt her heart sink into her stomach. In her rear view mirror she had seen that a police car had pulled up right behind her. Django and Adyson didn't register it at all, but being a new driver Katie was suddenly completely paranoid. As the light turned green, she focused entirely on driving as correctly and properly as possible. She tuned out everything around her as she simply drove on, nervously checking the police car behind her every so often as it followed her. After several blocks of driving, the police car finally turned and headed in another direction and Katie exhaled in relief. As soon as she did, however, she noticed Adyson was looking at her with a supremely annoyed expression on her face.

"Uh…did I do something wrong," she asked innocently.

"You mean besides completely ignoring Django's directions," Adyson asked. "What were you doing, Katie?"

"There was a cop car behind me!"

"So what?"

"So what? I just got my license today! I'm not going to chance getting pulled over!"

Adyson sat back in her seat and pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried ever so hard to not lose her temper. The whole matter of simply getting to Mr. Slushy Dawg had become such a fiasco that she was nearly fed up with it. The fact that she was absolutely starving, however, urged her to see it through successfully.

"Look, just pull over and let's stop and take a break for a bit here," she said after composing herself. "We'll get ourselves turned around properly again and Django can get us to the restaurant properly this time, right Django?"

"Absolutely," Django replied.

Katie nodded and, after passing through one more intersection, finally pulled up and stopped in front of a house. All three teens got out of the car to stretch their legs. As soon as they were all standing on the sidewalk, however, they suddenly realized that their choice of location to stop had been incredibly bad.

"Hey guys," Irving called out to them from his front yard, which they had just parked in front of. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

* * *

Despite her sons being rather over-the-top in their geeky mannerisms, Mrs. McAllister seemed to be quite a normal woman herself. Her pleasant demeanor and thoughtfulness had been quite appreciated by Katie, Adyson, and Django. Especially since they were standing in the strangest and, quite possibly, most horrifying place in Danville: Irving's room.

"If you kids need anything, don't hesitate to ask for it," Mrs. McAllister told them happily as she closed Irving's door behind her upon leaving. The sound of the door closing seemed to echo to them, like they had been locked into a jail cell.

"I can get you guys back on track in no time," Irving told them as he sat in front of his computer. "I'll just hit the Internet and get you directions to Mr. Slushy Dawg. Though really, I have a hard time understanding how you can't know where it is. I mean, it's Mr. Slushy Dawg after all."

"Yeah…we get that a lot," Adyson said nervously as she looked around the room. Photos of Phineas and Ferb lined the walls, and several mocked-up models of the brothers' past inventions stood on desks and shelves. A few even hung from the ceiling. To a small extent, it was a fascinating collection, yet Adyson's amazement was easily eclipsed by how disturbing the sheer amount of it was.

"You really don't need to go to the trouble, Irv," Django told him, also showing a bit of nervousness. "I can get us there no problem."

"Nonsense," Irving said cheerily. "You guys are clearly in need of some nerd help, and far be it from me to turn away such good friends of Phineas and Ferb. You will put a good word in for me with them next time you see them, right?"

"Oh of course we will," Katie said. "We're just really in a hurry because, y'know, we're really hungry and all."

"Say no more, I am all over it," Irving said as he buckled down to getting the directions.

Adyson, Katie, and Django all turned towards each other, huddling up quickly.

"We get the directions and we go," Adyson said to them quietly. "Do **not** let him try to tag along."

"Yeah, I don't wanna share the back seat with that dude," Django added, also in a hushed tone.

"After your story earlier I would've thought you'd at least be willing to give Irving a chance," Adyson said, looking at him oddly.

"Yeah, well, homosexuality and ideologies are differences I can work with," Django told her. "Being an utterly creepy stalker, on the other hand, is a bit of a different deal altogether."

"Point taken," Adyson replied with a nod.

"Hmm…which Mr. Slushy Dawg are you trying to get to," Irving asked. "There's actually more locations than I thought."

"It's the one Gretchen works at, but I don't remember which one that is," Katie told him.

"Ah, that's store number thirty-seven," Irving replied, recalling the information as soon as he had a point of reference that had anything to do with either Phineas or Ferb.

"How did you…" Adyson started to ask. She caught herself and stopped mid-question. "On second thought, don't answer that. I don't think I want to know."

"I honestly don't know if this could get any freakier," Django said to himself as he leaned against a bookcase. As he did, the bookcase shifted slightly and several panels in the walls of the room flipped, revealing monitors that sprang to life showing video feeds coming from not only various rooms in the Flynn-Fletcher home, but the backyard, garage, the brothers' bikes, and even a curious angle in the bathroom.

"Irving…" Adyson said, now seriously freaked out. "What is all this?"

"Oh, heh, just my camera arrays," Irving said casually as he looked at them. He looked particularly happy about the curiously angled feed from the bathroom. "Oh good, the toothbrush cam is working! I have to replace that thing all the time."

"Toothbrush cam," Django repeated in disbelief.

Irving paid his comment no attention as he sent the directions to Mr. Slushy Dawn to his printer. "Almost done with your directions…aw man, my printer paper jammed again. Hang on guys, I'll have this fixed in no time."

"Oh no, we're not hanging around any longer," Adyson said, having finally had enough. She ripped the half-completed directions out of the printer despite Irving's protests and quickly made her way out of the room.

"Uh, guess we're out. Later Irv," Django told him, following Adyson and Katie quickly.

Irving just waved briefly as they left. "Huh. Guess they must really be hungry. Oh well, I'll just go back to the Internet again. Maybe CuteThang947 is online. She certainly seems like a nice, interesting girl."

* * *

All three teens in the car were now physically and mentally exhausted. Their hasty departure from Irving's home, combined with a half-completed map, had once again left them utterly lost; so much so that even Django couldn't figure out where they were anymore. They were out of ideas, out of willpower, and worst of all almost out of gas.

"Let's just pull over at the next gas station," Adyson said. "After that, I suggest we just call it a day at this point."

"Yeah, this has definitely not worked out like I expected it to," Katie added.

Django wanted to try and rally them to try a little bit more, but it was clear his words would fall on deaf ears at the moment. As they pulled up to an open pump at the next gas station they came across, he quickly jumped out of the car.

"You girls go get some drinks, freshen up or something," he told them. "I'll pump the gas."

"Thanks Django," Katie told him as she and Adyson began heading for the convenience store portion of the station. "Just, like, twenty bucks worth please. That'll be plenty to get everyone home."

Django saluted her quickly and set to the task of adding twenty dollars' worth of gas to the car's tank. As he leaned against the car while it filled with gas, he looked around to take in the surroundings. There was a strip mall right next to the gas station. Further up the street in the opposite direction was a drug store. It was when Django looked across the street, however, that he busted up laughing. He stopped the gas pump as he was absolutely cracking up laughing and didn't want to end up pumping more gas than Katie had requested. He was still laughing when the girls came back to the car several minutes later. Before they could ask him what he was laughing about, he pointed across the street. Both girls looked across the street and immediately joined him in laughing hysterically.

The gas station they'd stopped at was right across the street from Mr. Slushy Dawg.

Ten minutes later, after getting their gas, they all sat in Mr. Slushy Dawg enjoying hot dogs, joking, and laughing about the entire trip.

"For a first road trip, this was pretty epic," Adyson stated. She raised her cup of soda in a toast. "To Katie and her mad driving skills."

"Indeed," Django added, raising his cup to her as well.

"Thanks you guys," Katie said, blushing a little at their compliment. "Aw crud, I'm out of soda. I'll be right back, I'm gonna get a quick refill."

As Katie took her leave of them for the moment, Adyson simply took a moment to watch Django as he ate. She had to admit that he was occupying her thoughts more and more lately, but especially after this trip. Django caught her looking at him and sat up straight, taking a long drink from his soda before he spoke.

"Something on your mind," he asked. "Before you ask, these clothes are indeed clean. I did laundry two days ago."

"It's not that," Adyson told him. "Though that is a relief to hear. It's just…I guess I owe you an apology."

"An apology? For what, for heaven's sake?"

"Back at the party you tried to convince me that you did care about yourself and others despite how you looked. After all the other talking we did that night, I kind of wrote it off as you just trying to smooth talk me some more. When you told me about your friend Vic back in California, though, I could tell you meant what you said. You really are a good person, Django. So I'm sorry for thinking you weren't being genuine with me back then. I should've known better."

"Well, I hadn't given you much reason to believe me back then, so I can't fault you for thinking like that. But…thanks. I appreciate hearing that you don't utterly hate me."

"Django, I've never hated you," Adyson said insistently. "I've been frustrated with you to be sure, but I could never hate you. It's like you said earlier in the car, our differences aren't nearly enough to keep me from liking you. And I do like you; as a friend, of course."

Adyson had added the last bit hastily, hoping Django wouldn't get the wrong idea. Fortunately, he was too tired and still too hungry to give her words any particularly deep thought.

"Thanks, Addie," he told her with a smile. "I'm glad to know I haven't lost my best friend even after all this time."

"The same goes for me," she replied, smiling back. She leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table and resting her face in her hands. "So tell me more about California. Are the girls out there really everything you said they were?"

"I can't make that kind of stuff up. Some of them are so fake I swear they make Barbie dolls look anatomically correct."

"Ugh, ew. No wonder there's so many gay guys out there then. I'm surprised you haven't turned as a result."

"Vic calls it 'joining the Dark Side of the Force', and I'm really not interested. I'm way too attracted to girls to even give it consideration."

Adyson giggled at the reference. "I guess that makes you a Jedi, then?"

"Heck, I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi here. I'm just missing the beard is all. Maybe I'll grow one out…"

"Please don't, beards are seriously gross."

"Just kidding. I happen to agree with that. Martin tried to start growing one a few months ago. It didn't exactly go well."

"Oh, another Martin story? This has got to be good."

As Adyson and Django continued to talk, Katie continued to watch them along with Gretchen from the store counter. Katie leaned on the counter while not taking her eyes off of the two.

"So this is what it's like to be a spectator to romance, huh," she said to Gretchen.

"Yup, though are you sure you're cool with this," Gretchen asked. "Speaking from experience, it can be a bit rough when you don't have a love life of your own while your best friend gets a boyfriend."

"I'm okay, really. I've got something else I'm passionate about. The last thing I need is a love life taking time away from it."

"More power to you then. So, when are you gonna interrupt them?"

"In a few minutes. They need half a chance to just be themselves. So in the meantime, can I get a strawberry shake?"

Gretchen set to preparing a milkshake while Katie continued watching Adyson and Django talk and laugh. Her original feeling for the day had turned out to be spot on. This had definitely been a day for the history books.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** When Candace gets a mystery delivery, Phineas' curiosity demands to find out what it is despite being locked out of her room. Will Phineas find out what was in the box before he drives himself absolutely crazy?


	8. Mad for Mystery Mail

**Mad for Mystery Mail**

Seconds felt like hours. Minutes felt like days. As time seemed to grind to a standstill, the three young women standing on the front lawn remained vigilant as they kept a keen eye out. It would arrive soon. It had to.

"Candace, are you sure it's being delivered today," Stacy asked, looking at her longtime best friend.

Candace produced her smartphone from her pocket. She brought up the website of the delivery company, entered her tracking number, and held the device up to Stacy for her to see.

"It says 'Out For Delivery'," Candace told her. "Which means it's on its way. And as much as I love my family, I'm not about to trust any of them with this package."

"I don't blame you there, but at the same time couldn't we watch for the delivery truck from the house? Or, y'know, anywhere more comfortable than just standing on the front lawn under the blazing hot sun?"

"If you simply become one hundred percent in tune with Mother Earth, the heat won't bother you anymore," Jenny said as she smiled swayed from side to side while continuing to monitor the street. Candace and Stacy both slowly looked over at Jenny with extreme skepticism.

"And how's that workin' for ya," Stacy asked.

"Well I'm only forty-five percent in tune, so not so well. Plus, it really is pretty hot out."

"Maybe not wearing clothing that was one hundred percent cotton would help too," Candace told her.

"But then I'd get arrested for indecent exposure," Jenny replied.

"I've **got** to go shopping with you someday," Stacy said as she resumed watching her side of the street. "You've really got to broaden your fashion horizons, girl."

"C'mon guys, stay focused," Candace told them as she checked her phone for any possible update on her delivery. "I can't tell you how important this delivery is to me."

"If we didn't understand how true that was, we wouldn't be here," Jenny told her, flashing her a quick smile.

"Jenny's right," Stacy added, also smiling at Candace. "Despite all our complaining, we're here for you today, Candace."

"Thanks, both of you," Candace said, nodding and smiling at both of them in turn. "It means the world to me to have you both here."

As the three girls continued their watch outside, just inside a red-haired teenage boy watched them as well, puzzling over what on earth they were doing.

"What are they doing out there," Phineas said, posing the question more to himself than to anyone in earshot. "It's in the low nineties out there, for crying out loud."

"Maybe they're working on their tans," Ferb replied, not looking up from reading his copy of "Dune".

"They're standing up, Ferb. You don't tan standing up."

"Perhaps they're watching for the ice cream truck, then?"

"Ferb…"

"Or they could be performing a rain dance. Jenny is with them, after all."

"Ferb?"

"They might even have become sun worshippers, you never know."

"Ferb!"

Ferb finally looked up from his book to see a severely annoyed Phineas looking down at him.

"You can't possibly tell me you're not curious about what they're up to."

"Well seeing as how we make a habit out of doing the impossible, I'm here to tell you quite confidently that no, I'm not in the slightest bit curious."

"But they're doing…something! Maybe they're even **up to something!**"

"This is _Candace_ you're talking about. I highly doubt it."

Phineas quickly produced his phone and contemplated using it. "Maybe I should call mom and tell her about it."

Ferb looked at his brother in amusement. "Please tell me you do realize the irony in this situation, Phineas."

"What irony?"

"Oh I don't know…spying on your sibling, conjecturing that they're up to something, contemplating calling mother about it…"

"Oh. Wow. I honestly didn't think of that. That's really kinda scary now that I think about it."

"It just goes to prove you and Candace are indeed related by blood. You can both be right nutters given the proper set of circumstances."

"Oh and you'd know nothing about going nuts over something, right?"

"Of course not. I know how to compose myself, after all."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time I walk in front of the TV while you're watching Dr. Whatsits again."

"It's Dr. Who, thank you very much. And heathens such as you simply can't appreciate the brilliance of the series."

Phineas was about to gleefully continue teasing his brother when a chorus of screams started coming steadily closer to the front door. Stacy quickly opened the door as Candace dashed past the boys with a large box in her arms. Jenny and Stacy quickly followed behind her, heading upstairs and slamming the door to her room closed behind them. Phineas slowly blinked and began looking back over at Ferb.

"No, I'm still not interested in finding out," Ferb told him as he resumed reading his book.

"Fine," Phineas said in disgust. "I'll go find out on my own, then."

Phineas quickly headed upstairs to the door to Candace's room and knocked on it. He waited for several moments, but it remained closed. There wasn't even the slightest bit of acknowledgment from inside that he had knocked at all. He knocked again and waited again. Still no response. He kept his cool, though, and decided to try a bit harder.

"Candace," he called out while knocking. "It's just me. I was wondering what was in the package."

Nothing.

"Hello? Candace? Stacy? Jenny?"

Nada.

"I know you guys are in there."

Zip.

"I, uh…I think Perry's in there. And he ate a big breakfast, so you probably want to let him out unless you want a repeat of the time he got locked in there for the day."

Zilch.

"Candace, the house is on fire."

Zero.

"Candace, I'm on fire."

Nil.

"Candace, Jeremy's on fire."

Phineas spent the next five minutes trying to find some combination of knocking and outlandish phrasing that would get the girls to open the door, but to no avail.

"This is ridiculous," he told himself. "I'll just go in. She's barged in on me countless times before, I'm sure I can get away with it just this once."

Phineas took a deep breath, braced himself, grabbed the doorknob of the door and found it to be locked.

"Oh come on! Candace, let me in already!"

Phineas stared at the door for another five minutes with no change in his situation. He grumbled to himself as he turned away from the door.

"Fine, then. If that's how it's going to be, Candace, then you leave me no choice. I know what I'm gonna do today. I'm gonna find out what was in that box no matter what it takes!"

* * *

"If you think for one second I'm going to help you, you're completely mental," Ferb told him as he continued to read his book.

"Come on, Ferb," Phineas said, pleading on his knees. "I can think of a dozen different inventions that we could use to find out, but I'll never build any of them quickly enough on my own! Help me, Obi-Ferb Kenobi! You're my only hope."

"Well since you put it that way…"

Phineas' face lit up as Ferb slowly lowered his book, looked him in the eyes, and smiled.

"…absolutely not."

Phineas' face fell as Ferb returned to his book.

"I'm going to remember this," Phineas said bitterly. Just then the doorbell rang.

"And I'm going to answer the door," Ferb told him. "Try to be civil, please?"

Ferb went to the door while Phineas paced a bit to try and cool off. He opened the door and found Isabella waiting on the other side.

"Hey Ferb," she said with a smile. "Candace called me, is she upstairs?"

"Yup, come on in," Ferb told her.

"Izzie," Phineas said, walking over to her as she made her way in. He walked with her as she made her way to the stairs. "Thank goodness. Look, just go on up, find out what was in that box and come back down and tell me, okay? That'd be awesome."

Strangely enough, Isabella simply nodded to him. She didn't even so much as talk to Phineas as she headed upstairs, but Phineas was confident that if anyone would help him it would be her. Half an hour later, however, she had not emerged from the room and Phineas was in an even fouler mood. That was when the doorbell rang again. Once again, Ferb got up to answer it, this time finding Gretchen and Milly on the other side.

"Hiya sweetie," Gretchen said, giving him a quick kiss as she and Milly entered. "Isabella called and said Candace wanted us all to come over."

"Come right on in, love," Ferb told her. "They're all upstairs."

Gretchen nodded to him and led Milly to the stairs. "Thanks. Oh, hi Phineas."

Phineas sulked on the couch and waved to her briefly. "Hey."

The two girls disappeared upstairs just as Isabella had. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Katie, Adyson, Ginger, and Holly.

"Hey-o Ferb," Adyson said with a smile and wave.

"Good morning, ladies," Ferb said politely. "Everyone is upstairs in Candace's room."

"How'd you know that's why we're here," Holly asked.

"Because that's why all the girls are coming over today," Phineas said sarcastically. He continued sulking on the couch.

"Wow, what's up with Phineas," Ginger asked.

"Pay him no mind, he's just being a bit spoiled," Ferb told her. "By all means, come in and make yourselves at home."

Once again, the gaggle of girls quickly made their way to the stairs and joined the growing crowd in Candace's room. Not five minutes later, the doorbell rang yet again; this time multiple times, insistently. Ferb answered the door and found Melissa and Suzy on the other side, desperately trying to catch their breath. They were still in their Fireside Girls uniforms and were quickly joined by the rest of their troop as well, who were also all fighting to catch their breath.

"Did you run all the way here from the lodge," Ferb asked.

"Sure did…" Suzy said, gasping for air. "But at least…we qualified…for our 'Four-Minute Mile' patch…!"

Ferb grinned at her as he stepped to the side, holding the door open. "Well done, then. Candace and everyone are upstairs. By all means, come on in."

Suzy nodded and made her way past him, quickly followed by Melissa and the rest of the troop. Watching them join the ever-growing party was the last straw for Phineas.

"This is officially ridiculous," he exclaimed. "Every girl in Danville that knows Candace gets to get in there but I, her own brother, can't even get so much as a toe in the door?"

"Just because you want to know what's going on doesn't give Candace any obligation to tell you," Ferb told him as he once again returned to his book.

"Well I'm through playing nice. If you won't help me, I'll find someone who will!"

Without further word, Phineas dashed out the door and slammed it hard as he left. Not even a minute after he'd run off, Isabella popped downstairs and looked around.

"Hey Ferb, where's Phineas," she asked. "I just told Candace that he was asking about the package and she said to come down and get him. She meant to have me come get him sooner, but things got pretty busy once everyone started showing up. Not to mention noisy."

"I'm afraid he's just run out for a bit," Ferb replied. "I expect he won't be back for some time. Best to just go back to your festivities."

"Too bad. Candace really wanted to have him come up. Hey, you wanna come up instead?"

Ferb closed his book, mused on the offer for a moment, and then stood up.

"Don't mind if I do."

* * *

Phineas poked at his Jumbo Slushy Dawg meal with supreme disinterest. He knew he should eat, it being well past lunchtime by now, but his spectacular string of failures at securing any help to learn what had been in the package Candace had received earlier had left him in a funk. Not only that, he'd also failed to find anyone to help him out. Baljeet was at an all-day seminar, Buford was doing yard work, and Django was in the middle of an art project of some kind. Going home was the last thing on his mind, as it was tantamount to admitting defeat. He was sure if he just had a little quiet time he could figure something out. Unfortunately, quiet time was not to be had as a familiar, blonde-haired man wearing a buttoned shirt, necktie, and dress slacks stepped up to his table.

"Something wrong with your meal, sir," Jeremy asked, leaning over to look at Phineas. "I can have something else prepared for you if it's not acceptable."

"Hey Jeremy," Phineas replied gloomily. "The food's fine. I'm just having motivation issues when it comes to eating."

Jeremy took a seat opposite him. "Whoa, it must be something serious if it's enough to make a teenage guy lose his appetite. Wanna talk at all?"

"You'll probably just tell me to forget about it like Ferb."

"Maybe, maybe not. You won't know until you tell me."

Phineas forced himself to sit upright to look across at the man who, in less than two months, would be his brother-in-law. He took a couple bites of food as he organized his thoughts on his day so far and, after washing the food down with some soda, decided to try talking about it one more time.

"Candace got this package today," he told Jeremy. "I've got no idea what it was, but she was so excited about it that she locked herself in her room with Stacy and Jenny and isn't even acknowledging me when I knock on her door to try to find out what it was or what's going on. Just about every other girl in the neighborhood, including your sister, is now over at my house in her room. Ferb won't help me find out, no one else is available, and I'm running out of ideas. I've never felt this helpless before, and my curiosity is going to drive me mad at this rate."

"Package, huh," Jeremy said, stroking his chin as he thought for a moment. "How big was it?"

"Big. I'd say at least as long and wide as this table and maybe a foot deep or so."

"And you say she was pretty excited about it?"

"Extremely excited."

"Then I think I know what it was."

Phineas looked at him in awe. "You do? Well, what?"

Jeremy grinned at Phineas as he leaned forward on the table. "It's her wedding dress."

Phineas felt as if all the pieces to the day's puzzle that had lay jumbled in his head suddenly fell into perfect place. He slapped his forehead as he cursed himself for not taking a moment to actually think about the whole deal.

"That explains why Stacy and Jenny were helping her watch for it," Phineas said.

Jeremy nodded to him as he stole a couple French fries from Phineas' tray. "Yup. Stacy's her Maid of Honor after all, and Jenny's a bridesmaid. As is Suzy."

"And Isabella. I remember how thrilled Izzie was when Candace asked her."

"She probably invited everyone over to see it is my guess. And, well, girls go nuts over weddings."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm sure she didn't mean to exclude you, Phineas, but you have no idea what a big deal this is to her. And me as well, for that matter."

"No no, I totally get how important it is to both of you. At the same time, though, it's kind of hard to believe."

"What is?"

"That it's actually gonna happen. My sister is getting _married_. I mean I knew it was going to happen; I was there on Christmas when you proposed to her. And I knew the date was coming towards the end of summer, but…now that she's actually got her dress, it's starting to really sink in. My sister's going to stop being Candace Flynn and start being Mrs. Candace Johnson."

"She'll still always be your sister, man. I know if she were here she'd tell you just that."

"Yeah, I know. It's just…it's a lot for me to grasp, y'know? There's a lot of stuff about relationships I still don't get after all, despite having been Isabella's boyfriend now for almost a year."

"Don't be in a hurry. You two have a lot of time ahead of you to see where your relationship goes."

"Oh I'm in no hurry. Heck, I remember one time we listened to this guy sing a song to us all about patience. It was in the park one time."

"Really? When was that?"

Phineas suddenly remembered that the day in question had actually happened six years ago during the now-infamous Age Swapper Incident. Jeremy had been a ten-year old boy for most of that day and likely didn't recall the day like he did.

"Uh…it was a while ago," Phineas said, hoping to bypass explaining the incident.  
Anyway, believe me; I don't want to rush a single moment with Isabella. Every moment I've spent with her has been amazing. I really do treasure our time together, as well as her."

Jeremy smiled at him as he sat up a bit more in his chair. "You sound pretty serious about her."

"That's honestly how I feel."

"Have you ever told her what you just told me?"

"Huh? Well…I mean…we do so much together these days. And I go out of my way to be nice to her all the time…"

"That's all well and good Phineas, but have you _told_ her?"

Phineas thought hard for a moment and then looked down at the table a bit disappointedly. "No. No I haven't."

"Give it a shot sometime. She might really appreciate hearing it."

"You think," Phineas asked, looking up at Jeremy now.

Jeremy nodded in response. "You could do a hundred nice things for a girl that she'll forget about in a heartbeat, but tell her one time about how you really feel about her? She will **never** forget it."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would words be more important to someone than actions or deeds?"

"Welcome to the world of trying to understand women."

Rather than try to wrap his already tired mind around the matter any further, Phineas threw himself into eating his food with renewed fervor. Just as he finished his hot dog, in came Lawrence and Ferb who immediately walked over to join them.

"Hello there, boys," Lawrence said as he took a seat. "Mind if we join you?"

"Dad, Ferb, what're you guys doing here," Phineas asked.

"The party spilled out from Candace's room to the rest of the house," Ferb told him. "Much as I love a good party, the estrogen levels were beginning to become a bit toxic."

"We thought it best to just let the girls be girls for a while," Lawrence added. "Your mother's there and assured us she'd keep an eye on things, though I suspect she was just waiting for us to leave so she could invite over the rest of her band."

"You feeling any better, Phineas," Ferb asked, looking at his brother.

Phineas nodded to him. "Yeah, thanks to Jeremy."

"Hey, I'd do it any time for either of my future brothers-in-law," Jeremy told them. "I need to get back to work, but you guys are welcome to stay as long as you need. I'll get you some cups so you can get free drink refills."

As Jeremy headed to get the cups and Ferb and Lawrence discussed what to order for themselves, Phineas let himself think more about his talk with Jeremy; especially the part where Jeremy had urged him to tell Isabella more about how he felt about her. He had a lot to contemplate on the matter, but found himself more concerned about what he'd say than when he'd say it.

* * *

It was close to dinner time when Lawrence and the boys returned to the house. They arrived just as it seemed the party was letting out. As she exited the house, Isabella spotted Phineas and quickly bid goodbye to her friends from her former Fireside Girls troop to go over to him.

"Hey, you doing okay," she asked as she reached him. "You look like you've got a lot on your mind."

"Yeah, I kinda do," he admitted. "Sorry I ran out earlier. Ferb told me you had come down looking for me just after I left."

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to seem like I was ignoring you when I first came over, I was just…"

"I know. Candace's dress, right?"

"It's really something else, Phineas. I'm sorry you didn't' get to see it."

"I'm sure I'll have a chance sometime, but don't sweat it Izzie. I was being kind of a brat earlier anyway. I'm not sure I deserved to see it, honestly."

"I know Candace doesn't think that way, so you shouldn't either."

"I'll try talking to her a little later. Maybe. Like you said before, I've got a lot on my mind."

"You know you can always talk to me, right? I'm here for you, Phineas."

"I know, and that's what makes it hard."

Isabella was positively puzzled now. "What do you mean?"

Phineas fidgeted a bit as he struggled to make eye contact with her. "The stuff that's on my mind is about you, Isabella."

"Really?" Isabella's voice shrunk as she began to blush a bit. "What kind of stuff?"

"Just…bear with me here, please. I may talk a lot, but I'm terrible about talking about this kind of thing."

Isabella nodded as Phineas took a deep, cleansing breath and took her hands into his as he looked into those sapphire eyes of hers that he loved so much.

"We've been dating now for almost a year, Isabella. And we've had a lot of fun during that time to be sure. But it occurred to me that in all that time I haven't really told you much of how I feel about you. I mean, you know I like you, right?"

She nodded and smiled at him. "Of course I know that."

Phineas nodded to her as well and continued. "Over the past several months, though, I've come to realize that what I feel for you is something more than what can be conveyed by the word 'like'. I mean…every time we're together things just feel _right_ to me. Everything we do, no matter how mundane, is special. I really cherish every opportunity I have to be with you, Isabella; and not just the time itself…but you.

Isabella resisted the urge to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't simply fantasizing or dreaming again as Phineas continued working through his thoughts.

"You're more important to me than I can possibly describe. I like being with you so much, at times I find myself worried about what I'd do if you weren't around. Anymore I not only can't imagine what life would be like without you, but I just don't want to think of such a horrible possibility at all. It was only after I talked to Jeremy earlier today and took some time to think that I've realized what this feeling really is. Well, at least what I think it is. I mean I know we're still really young and all but-"

Phineas stopped himself as he saw her eyes shining with tears. Her expression was a mixture of hopeful and nervous as she hung on his every word. He swallowed hard and dug deep for the last bit of courage to say what he both wanted, and now needed, to say.

"Isabella, I…I love you."

Isabella could only barely whisper his name as she quickly closed the small distance between them and kissed him tenderly on the lips. They put their arms around each other as their kiss became deeper and more passionate. Only after two full minutes of kissing in the middle of the driveway did they stop and just stand there, continuing to hold each other as closely as was comfortable.

"I don't care if we are too young," Isabella told him quietly. "I love you too, Phineas. I always have, and I always will."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Phineas replied, his voice also hushed. "It's just…I thought it didn't need to be said because of everything we've done together."

"You've got nothing to apologize for, _mi amor_. I certainly know by now how you are about admitting feelings. Still…I can't tell you how much it meant to actually hear you say it, Phineas."

"I'll try to say it a little more often from here on out, then. Not in Spanish, though. "

Isabella laughed nervously as they stepped back just a bit from each other. "Yeah, probably a good idea given my track record whenever you do speak Spanish to me. Anyway, you'd better go on in. I know Candace wanted to talk to you still today."

"Gotcha," Phineas said, slowly walking backwards from her towards his garage. "I'll call you tonight, though, okay?"

"I'll look forward to it."

The two slowly continued walking backwards away from each other, each finding it hard to take their eyes off of the other. Eventually, they both turned and headed to their respective houses, but despite being out of sight neither was out of the other's mind or heart.

Shaking the remnants of his romantic encounter with Isabella off, Phineas entered the kitchen and found the rest of his family save for Candace gathered around the kitchen counter studying a takeout menu. Linda looked up as she saw him approaching.

"Hey sweetheart," she said, moving to hug him as he joined them at the counter. "We're ordering Chinese for dinner tonight. The party went a little too long and there's no time to fix something proper."

"Cool with me," Phineas replied. "Put me down for sweet and sour chicken. With steamed rice, please."

Linda took down a quick note for her son's order. "Will do. By the way, Candace wanted you to go up to her room when you have a moment. She was really looking for you earlier."

Phineas nodded and headed upstairs, back to the door he'd spent so much time in front of earlier when he'd been so desperate to find out what was going on. He first reached for the doorknob, but stopped himself. He didn't just want to barge in on her, that wasn't his style at all and he knew it. He quickly moved his hand up on the door and knocked a few times.

"Candace, it's Phineas," he said.

"It's open, Phineas. Come on in." he heard come from inside. Phineas opened the door, stepped inside, and was immediately awestruck.

Candace stood a few feet away, her hands folded in front of her, still dressed in her wedding dress. It was as purely white as the first snow of winter. The skirt was completely smooth without a single layer or ruffle to it and had an embroidered pattern down the left side that Phineas thought resembled an ice-encrusted tree branch. A few folds of material were bunched about her waist and came together on the left side in line with the embroidered pattern on the skirt. The bodice was fitted perfectly to her figure and was also embroidered to look like a sky filled with snowflakes. Finally, a pair of loose, pure lace straps connected from the front of the bodice to the back, coming over her shoulders.

"So…how do I look," she asked, for what had now been the umpteenth time that day.

Candace had heard a wide array of adjectives from all the girls earlier that day to describe her and her dress: gorgeous, radiant, beautiful, stunning, exquisite, and many others. She expected any one of those words to crop up again from Phineas.

"Like an angel," Phineas told her in wonderment.

She hadn't been prepared to hear that. Coming from Phineas, it was the highest possible praise he could've given her and the most touching compliment she'd received all day. The fact that she had inadvertently made him wait until the end of the day to tell her that, combined with how heartfelt his words had been, was enough to send tears tumbling down her face. Phineas was immediately alarmed as he saw her quickly trying to regain her composure.

"Candace, I'm sorry," he said in nervous apology. "Did I say something wrong?"

Candace sniffled a little as she fought to dry her eyes with her hands. "What? Oh, no, not at all. It's just…that was the nicest thing anyone's said to me today. Even Ferb didn't give me a compliment like that. It's…thank you, Phineas."

Phineas scratched the back of his head and blushed a bit in embarrassment. "You're welcome, Candace. You really do look like an angel. Well, not that I know exactly what an angel looks like, but…well, you know what I mean. I think. I hope."

Candace laughed, which seemed to immediately help her reclaim some emotional balance. "Yeah, I get you. Okay, now get out of my room. I've been wearing this dress almost all day now, and as much as I love it I'm beginning to get a bit tired of it for the moment. Plus I'd rather not attempt to eat chow mein in it."

"Well Ferb and I did make that stain-repelling spray for all fabrics a while back. It's still somewhat experimental but we could-"

Candace looked at him scornfully now. "Phineas, if you think for a second I'm letting anything or anyone touch this dress besides me, you're insane. Now get."

Phineas faked a pout as he turned to leave the room. "You're no fun at all."

"That's right, and don't you forget it!"

"Forget what," Phineas asked, leaning back into the room after having just left, a stupid grin on his face.

"_**Phineas!**_"

Phineas quickly dodged as Ducky Momo came flying at his head. He then immediately ran off downstairs laughing. It was just as Jeremy had said. No matter what happened in their lives or where they went, Candace would always be his sister. And he wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** With the Fourth of July on the horizon, Adyson is worried about wasting her summer. As she begins seeking help to liven things up, though, she can't help but wonder about her feelings for Django. Where will this road ultimately lead her?


	9. Bitter Sweetwater, Part One

**Bitter Sweetwater, Part One**

_Monday_

Adyson paced her room anxiously. With every lap that she made, she glanced back at her cell phone. Katie said she'd call her back as soon as she got home, she was utterly adamant about not using her own cell phone at all while driving. It was an admirable attitude to have, but the waiting was driving Adyson even crazier than she already was at the moment. She had a lot on her mind, and Katie was the only one she knew she could vent to about it. Just as she contemplated calling her again anyway, her phone rang anyway announcing with its customized ringtone that Katie was indeed home now.

"Sorry that took so long," Katie said immediately after Adyson had picked up. "Traffic was a little hectic coming back from the dance studio. So what's up?"

"What's up," Adyson repeated, unable to believe Katie's ignorance. "Nothing! That's what's up."

"Um…okaaaay…"

"Katie, the Fourth of July is only a week away and I haven't done anything really fun yet this summer!"

"What about our trip to Slushy Dawg?"

"Anything fun that doesn't involve putting on rose-colored glasses."

"Fair enough. But what can I do about it, Adyson? You're the only one who can control that. You know what you consider to be fun better than anyone else, and it's not like you've got anything else going on right now."

"I know, I know. I just…I needed someone to vent to, and maybe get some ideas from is all. I don't want my summer to go to waste, but I can't seem to think of anything to do. And what's worse, I can't find anyone to do anything with! Most of the girls have their boyfriends to turn to, and you and Holly have been busy preparing for the music and dance recital."

"You know there is one person you could turn to," Katie said suggestively.

Adyson rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. "And do what? Katie, Django and I have so little in common anymore I'd probably just end up yelling at him again for whatever we tried to do together. He's a nice guy, and I don't want to put myself in a situation where I'd get intentionally mad at him."

"Is that really what's stopping you, or is it that you're afraid that spending time alone with him would finally get you to admit that you actually do like him more than you say?"

"Katie, do yourself a favor: stick to dancing. You're terrible as a psychiatrist."

"Fine, fine. Well look, moping around your room isn't going to solve anything. I may not have any ideas for you, but the other girls might."

"But what about their boyfriends? I'll just be getting in the way."

"Oh come on, Adyson, they don't spend every waking minute with their guys. I've even spent some time here and there with them this summer, and they each have said they'd love some time to reconnect with you some more."

"Really?"

"On my honor as a Fireside Girl, I swear it's the truth. So just call 'em up and see when they have time to spare. I'm sure one of them will have an idea to help you liven up your summer."

"I guess it can't hurt to try. But who should I call first?"

"Well if you're trying to make a schedule…"

"Right. Ginger. Thanks, Katie. I'll catch up with you later."

Adyson hung up with Katie and, after grabbing a notebook to act as an impromptu day planner, she set to calling her friends one by one to see about when she could make time to see them; and, hopefully, find a way to inject some much needed fun into her summer.

* * *

_Tuesday_

Adyson approached Ginger's home hopeful that the Japanese girl could help her figure out how to make her summer a little more fun and interesting. Admittedly, she knew Ginger wasn't the most outgoing and exciting of the girls, but maybe she had a different perspective on things that would help energize her life a bit. At the very least she could probably help Adyson organize herself a bit better so she could more easily participate in fun activities. She pushed the doorbell and waited patiently for it to be answered. Within moments she heard rapid footsteps approaching the door and took a step back to be safe. The door flew open as Stacy poked her head out with a cheesy grin that quickly disappeared once she saw that it wasn't Baljeet at the door.

"Oh, hey there," Stacy said disappointedly. She turned back into the house and shouted, "_Oi, Ginger! Anta no tomodachi ga kita wa yo._"

"_Hontou ni derikashii ga nain desu ne, onee-san,"_ Ginger said as she passed by her sister to greet Adyson. "Hey Adyson, c'mon back to my room. We can chill out there so we won't be bothered by raving lunatics."

"Uh…okay," Adyson said uneasily. Once they were closer to Ginger's room she whispered, "Do you guys always do that?"

"Do what," Ginger asked. "The passive-aggressive thing? More or less."

"Actually I meant talk in Japanese at home."

"Oh that. Yup. It's a house rule. When it's just family around, English is off-limits. When we have non-Japanese guests around, we limit the Japanese usage."

"I guess that makes sense. So what were you saying to your sister?"

"Oh don't mind that. She's just trying to be a pain as usual."

"Guess I'll have to take your word for it."

The two entered Ginger's room, and Ginger made doubly certain her door was locked. Then she took a seat on her bed as Adyson sat in the office chair that was at her desk.

"So you're worried about wasting your summer," Ginger asked.

"In a nutshell, yeah," Adyson replied. "I can't seem to find anything fun to get into, but part of me got to wondering if it's because I'm not using my time properly."

Ginger grinned widely. "Well you came to the right place for help with that. I can definitely help you get back on track. Do you have any kind of organization system that you like to use already?"

Adyson stared at her blankly. "Organization system?"

"You know, a particular style or layout of programs or pages that helps you keep track of things."

Adyson held up her notebook and smiled sheepishly. "Uh…I have the notebook I grabbed yesterday. Does that count?"

Ginger looked thoroughly unimpressed at the simple single-subject notebook Adyson held up.

"What about your cell phone? Does it have any apps on it you use?"

"Um…it makes phone calls well enough. And I can text on it pretty well."

Ginger's eye twitched slightly. "Wow. We've definitely got some work to do then. Okay, let's start from the absolute basics. We'll get you set up with a day planner."

"Those things are so expensive, though. Where am I gonna get the money to afford one?"

"Oh don't be silly, Addie, you can have one of my old ones."

As Ginger walked over to one of her dresser drawers, Adyson figured she only had maybe a couple of old planners to choose from and felt fortunate to have a friend as generous as her. She was, thus, quite shocked when Ginger removed the entire drawer and put it on her bed. Half of the drawer had clothes impeccably folded and stored; the rest of the space was taken up by empty day planners of such a wide variety that Ginger could probably open her own office supply chain with them.

"Good God, Ginger, how many freakin' planners do you have?"

Ginger stepped back and looked over her collection proudly. "At last count, thirty-seven. Though there's a new line coming out next month for back-to-school, so I'll probably add a few more then. Pick any one you want, really."

Adyson ran her hands through her hair as she forced herself to not ask why Ginger had so many and simply began looking through them for one she liked. Not wanting to spend too much time fussing over the matter, she quickly settled on a simple brown leather one with a snap clasp. Once that was set, Ginger started showing her different types of pages to fill it with: calendar pages, note pages, to-do lists, dividers, and many more.

"These all look alike to me," Adyson said, trying to keep her eyes from going crossed from looking at all the pages which, to her, seemed far too similar.

"Trust me, they each serve a function and they'll revolutionize how you keep your life in order," Ginger told her. She was about to show her how to organize the pages properly when the doorbell rang once again.

"_Shimatta_," Ginger muttered.

Before Adyson could ask what was up, Ginger had unlocked her door and was quickly heading to the front door to answer it. Adyson tried to gather up her planner and all the pages and follow. As soon as she stepped into the hall, however, she was bowled over by Stacy who went racing past her. Adyson hit the floor while her planner pages went flying everywhere. Her head spun a bit as she tried to get up with limited success. She felt someone take her hand and help her up while she got her bearings again. As she squeezed the hand slightly she noticed it felt a bit rough. As her hand was squeezed in return, she finally looked at who had helped her up and was suddenly quite surprised.

"You alright, Addie," Django asked, looking at her with concern. "Looks like you got run over here. Fortunately I saw the license plate of the Stacy that hit you."

"Django, what're you doing here," she asked, still in a bit of a daze.

"I came over with Baljeet. He's told me so much about how Ginger's helped him get organized that I thought I'd check it out myself. I could use some help figuring out how to sort my art projects after all. Plus it sounds kinda interesting, in a Zen sorta way."

"Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense. But, uh, where's Ginger?"

"I think she's still up front arguing with Stacy. She's pretty hacked off at her, especially since she knocked you down trying to get to the front door. 'Jeet's trying to calm them down, but there's lots of Japanese being thrown around so I came to check on you. I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, thanks, I…" Adyson stopped as she had just realized she was still holding Django's hand. She quickly let go and decided to try and collect the papers that were strewn all over the hall.

"Can I lend a hand," Django asked, squatting down beside her.

"I, uh…if you don't mind. There's a lot of these pages after all."

Django smiled at her and began helping collect papers with her. As they worked, Adyson stole a couple of glances at him without his realizing. She had only recently conceded to herself that she indeed found him cute, but now she had Katie's words to her from yesterday bugging her as well. She pondered a bit whether she actually was harboring any deeper feelings for the young artist. He had proven himself to be honest and trustworthy, not to mention he'd been able to make her laugh after their ordeal on the road. And then there was all their history from before he moved to consider as well. Her introspection was abruptly cut off when Ginger and Baljeet joined them in the hall.

"_Mattaku, ano baka wa hontouni muchakucha da wa_," Ginger grumbled. "Are you alright, Addie? I'm so sorry for what Stacy did to you."

"I'm alright, Ginger," Adyson told her, managing a smile. "Nothing I'm not used to. I **am** 'Accident Prone' Sweetwater, after all."

"Let us at least help you clean this up," Baljeet told her. "The sooner it's done the sooner we can relax where everyone can feel more at east."

With Ginger and Baljeet's help, the mess was quickly cleared and the four retreated to Ginger's room once again. Adyson sat trying to sort through all the planner pages they'd picked up, though found herself continually distracted by Django, who was talking with both Ginger and Baljeet about his concerns regarding organizing his art projects.

'Why is this bothering me so much,' she thought as she started paying less and less attention to what she was doing with her planner pages. 'It's Katie's fault, isn't it? She's the one who mentioned that I might like Django more than I admit and now that idea is stuck in my head.'

Adyson stopped sorting pages and hung her head, sighing quietly. 'No, that's not right. The truth is I've been thinking about this for weeks now. Ever since his welcome back party, even. But…he's just a friend, right? I mean, even if I did feel something deeper for him - not that I do of course; he's still a slovenly hippie after all. But still…even if I did like him like that, he's never shown that kind of interest in me.'

Adyson was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even register Ginger taking the planner out of her hands and looking over her progress.

"Uh, Adyson," she said, looking over the planner with a raised eyebrow. "You've got everything out of order in here, hon."

Adyson shook herself out of her daze and looked up at Ginger in confusion. "Huh? It seemed like it made sense to me."

"Addie, you've got calendar pages mixed with to-do lists and five dividers all separating just one page each. "

"And that's…wrong?"

"Adyson's always had her own way of doing things," Django noted, smiling over at her. "Remember your baking soda volcano in second grade?"

"Oh, those are always a classic science fair project," Baljeet said excitedly. "How'd it go over?"

"Oh it went over all right," Django told him. "And over and over and over and over…"

"Hey, I was just trying to make a good impression on the teacher," Adyson said defensively. "How was I supposed to know how much baking soda and vinegar was too much?"

"Addie, it covered the entire floor," Django reminded her. "We spent the rest of the day sitting on our desks."

Adyson blushed from the embarrassment brought on by remembering the incident. Between the fiasco her attempt at organization had become and now this, it was too much for her to bear.

"I think I'm just gonna head home for today," she said, handing her planner back to Ginger. "This stuff just seems too complicated for me, Ginger. Thanks anyway."

"Addie I was just having some fun with you," Django told her as he got up quickly. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"I know, Django. It's just…" Adyson found herself at a loss for words as she looked back at him. "I'm sorry, my head's just not in this right now. And I don't want to ruin everyone else's good time. I'll catch you guys later."

Without another word, Adyson unlocked the door to Ginger's room and left. She heard Django call after her, but ignored it. This day's attempt at getting her summer back on track had been a failure. Hopefully tomorrow would be more fruitful.

* * *

_Wednesday_

Adyson couldn't help but notice the impressive landscaping around Gretchen's house as she parked her bike just outside the front door. She rang the doorbell and then took a moment to look around at all of the flowers, which were bursting with color and stood in stark contrast to the black mulch beneath them.

"Like the flowers," Gretchen asked, sneaking up on Adyson a bit as she leaned out of her front door.

"You guys really have quite a beautiful garden going here," Adyson told her. "My mom would love to know who your landscaper is."

"Actually, you'll get to meet him in a little while. He's coming over for lunch."

"Oh? You're that familiar with him?"

"I should be. I've been dating him for almost a year now."

Adyson did a double-take, looking between the garden and Gretchen. "Wait…Ferb did all this?"

Gretchen nodded as she led Adyson into the house. "In years past my dad did the work, but his back's been really bad lately so we asked Ferb to help a while back. He ended up doing most of it himself, and we've just had to do the maintenance. My folks were so thankful that he now has a standing invite to join us for lunch or dinner anytime."

Adyson laughed a little at the idea of the arrangement. "I'm sure that's a great reward for him in more than one way."

"Heh, yeah he certainly does appreciate the food. And getting to spend time with Ferb and my family is pretty great too."

"Well I'm glad for you guys. You seem to really be enjoying this summer so far, unlike me."

"We're going to try and fix that here today. My thinking was maybe you need something you can really get yourself into. You don't have any hobbies, right?"

"Nope. None. What'd you have in mind?"

"Well, how about cooking? We're coming up on lunch anyway; you can help me get stuff ready."

"Sure. I've helped my mom cook a bit before. It is a little fun, I guess."

"It's **lots** of fun once you get some practice and start trying stuff out. And lunch today is super easy. I'm grilling bratwurst and making some pasta salad to go with it."

"Can't get away from the hot dogs, huh," Adyson asked, chuckling a bit.

"Be careful who you say that around," Gretchen told her warningly. "My dad would be quick to point out that brats are not hot dogs, and I happen to agree with him; though maybe not as vehemently."

Adyson rolled her eyes. Gretchen was peculiar about some of the strangest things. "Oh alright. So what do you want me to do?"

"Why don't you check on the grill? I'll get started on the pasta."

Adyson headed through the house to the patio in the back, where the family's gas grill was already lit and heating up. To the side, on a tray, were a couple packages of bratwurst just waiting to be cooked. She opened the lid of the grill and was greeted by a wave of heat.

"Whoa, yeah this is ready to cook on," she said to herself. "But it might be too early to get going. I'd better check with Gretchen."

As she re-entered the house, Adyson heard the doorbell ring. Thinking nothing of it, she continued on in and eventually found Gretchen in the living room with Ferb who had arrived early. And what was more, he had arrived with additional company.

"I really hope I'm not imposing," Django said apologetically to Gretchen.

"Not at all, the more the merrier," Gretchen told him. She turned to see Adyson as she heard her footsteps approaching. "Oh hey Adyson, looks like we'll be throwing a few more brats on the grill."

Django laughed at the odd coincidence. "Wow. What're the odds?"

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were stalking me," Adyson said, narrowing her eyes at Django as she approached him. "But that'd require forethought."

A disgusted look came across Django's face. "Ugh, planning. You know that's not my style."

"Did I miss something," Gretchen asked curiously.

"He happened to come over to Ginger's yesterday with Baljeet when I was visiting her," Adyson told her. She turned back to Django, then. "So what sublime coincidence brings you here today?"

"Ferb told me about the landscaping work he did here a while back and I was curious to see it," Django told her. "You know, maybe get an idea for an art project or something. I've done my fair share of flower portraits, after all."

"I assumed it'd be no trouble if he came for lunch as well," Ferb added to Gretchen. "Sorry I didn't call to check first."

"Oh please, it's Django for crying out loud," Gretchen told him. "Besides, we've got plenty of food to go around, right Adyson?"

Adyson just sighed and decided to just go with it. "Right. Sure. Whatever."

"Django, why don't you go back with Adyson and tend to the grill," Gretchen asked him. "Ferb and I'll get things set so maybe we can eat outside by the garden. That way we can have lunch and you can check out the flowers at the same time."

"That'd be awesome," Django told her. "C'mon, Addie. I know my way around a grill pretty well."

Adyson laughed as she fell in behind him. "Oh this I've **got** to see."

Once back by the grill, Django staggered a bit from the amount of heat on the patio.

"Dang, are you guys trying to heat the house with this thing," he asked as he reached for the grill's temperature controls.

"Hey, I just came back to check on it earlier," Adyson said with a shrug. "Gretchen's the one who got it started."

"We're cooking brats, not burning evidence. Medium will be more than enough to get the job done."

"But won't the food get done faster if we cook it hotter?"

"Speeding up cooking is never a good idea if you can help it."

"How do you know this sort of stuff?"

Django turned to face her. "Let me put it to you like this: You know my sister and dad, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Can you see either of them cooking anything that didn't involve a microwave?"

Adyson thought for a moment, trying to envision either one actually spending time in a kitchen. "No. No I can't."

Django nodded affirmatively to her. "After I did some research on the kind of stuff that goes into those instant meals and boxed mixes, I had to make a change. So I just started cooking for us. It's pretty fun, really."

"Wow. That's actually really impressive."

"I can have initiative when it matters. I just don't think it matters as much as most people think it does."

"The problem there is the people who do think it matters are the ones who'll eventually be cutting your paychecks, Django," Adyson told him as she started unwrapping the packages of bratwurst. "And if you can't prove yourself to them you'll never hold a steady job down."

"Maybe I'm not really worried about that," Django said simply. "I mean, I don't even know yet what I want to do for a living. There's a lot of stuff I like doing, and some of it I'm kinda good at, but I don't really have any kind of goal. I'll work to live, that's for sure. But I don't think I could be the type who lives to work."

"I guess this is one area where you and I really differ," Adyson told him while handing him food to be cooked. "I love the idea of having some tremendous goal to work towards, and giving every ounce of time and effort I can spare to reach it. And when you finally achieve that goal, you can point to it and say it's something you did. No one can ever take that sort of accomplishment away from you; it's your very own mark on history."

Django smiled at her as he took the brats and began adding them to the grill, which wasn't radiating nearly as much heat as it had been. "I guess that's why you were the first record-holder for most patches earned in a single day among the Fireside Girls."

"I did try once to at least match Candace's record, but the best I could manage was twenty-nine patches. There's something about those Flynns that makes them unbeatable, I swear. Still, you're exactly right. That was something I did and had a lot of pride in. I still do."

"I gotta say I really admire this side of you, Addie. I don't think I'll ever be so driven, but there's something about you when you get like this…"

Adyson folded her arms to hug herself as she looked away from him. "Most people I know think I'm pretty scary when I get passionate about something I'm working on."

"I don't think you're scary."

Adyson looked back at him curiously. "You don't?"

Django shook his head as he turned away from the grill to face her. "If anything, I think…actually, I'd better just stop right there."

"What? Why?"

"The last time I said something like this you didn't believe me. And, well, things just kind of deteriorated from there."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I don't want to upset you so-"

"Why not just try anyway?"

Django almost couldn't believe what Adyson had just said. Adyson sat down and looked away from him, trying to hide how much she was blushing.

"A lot has changed since then about my opinion of you," she told him. "And you never know unless you try. Fortune favors the bold, after all."

The silence between the two of them was almost too much for Adyson to bear as Django seemed to waffle about whether to speak or not. After a couple of minutes, he turned back to the grill to tend to the food again, leaving her to figure he'd given up on saying anything.

"Attractive," he finally said, practically choking on the word. "That's what I think of you when you show this side of yourself. And, well…I think that about you a lot of other times too."

"You think I'm…attractive," she asked, repeating his own word. Django simply nodded in response as he continued watching over the food. Adyson's heart raced a bit as she let his admission sink in. She felt herself becoming a bit overwhelmed and had to do something about it.

"I, uh…I think I'll go get the buns," she said, getting up quickly. "And maybe something to drink. It's hot out here after all."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Django added immediately.

"You want something?"

"Sure! Something cold…very cold, yes."

"Got it. Be back in a couple."

Adyson quickly walked into the house and, once inside, found a spot where she couldn't be seen and tried to deal with her feelings. Her face felt hot, her heart was pounding, and her breathing was rather rapid. It was a total conundrum to her. Just a bit earlier that summer she wouldn't have even given Django the time of day. Now here she was being profoundly affected by such a simple thing as being told he thought she was attractive.

'What is going on with me,' she wondered to herself. 'Maybe I'm coming down sick or something. Or maybe it's heat stroke again! No, don't be stupid. There's no singing salamanders this time. Maybe I really am…no, that can't be right. I mean even if he did…and even if I did…oh what the heck am I going to do?'

After several minutes spent calming herself, Adyson finally collected the buns she'd come inside to collect as well as a couple of drinks and continued with her day at Gretchen's house. Her second day trying to get her summer back on track had been another failure, and now she was even more confused and frustrated than ever. She resolved that tomorrow she would have to talk about this with someone. Her head was preparing for all-out war with her heart, and something had to give.

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Adyson seeks help from the only person she feels she can turn to at this point. Will she find an answer to everything troubling her, or will she only find even more heartache?

* * *

**Translation Notes for this chapter:**

Stacy (yelling to Ginger): Hey Ginger! Your friend's here!  
Ginger (upon arriving at the door): You really have no sense of tact at all, do you sis?

Ginger (seeing the mess in the hall): Honestly, that idiot is really too much to deal with.


	10. Bitter Sweetwater, Part Two

**Bitter Sweetwater, Part 2**

_Thursday Afternoon_

"Adyson, it's pretty clear to me that you've got it bad for him," Isabella said just before she dove gracefully into her pool.

Adyson's third visit for the week was with Isabella for some pool time, and upon her arrival Isabella had been able to tell something was troubling her more than just having so far wasted her summer. Adyson had retold the events of the past couple of days as well as her talk with Django after the Slushy Dawg escapade. Isabella swam underneath the pristine blue water for a few moments before popping up right at Adyson's feet.

"That can't possibly be it," Adyson told her. "I mean, I hadn't seen or heard from him for years since he moved away. And when I first met him again he just infuriated me so much!"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Isabella replied as she let herself float on her back a bit. "First off, clearly whatever first impression you had of him when you saw him again has changed."

Adyson looked away from her sheepishly. "Well yeah…"

"Also, didn't you say you two were really close when you were little?"

"We went to kindergarten together, along with Phineas and Ferb."

"And I distinctly remember you admitting even at the welcome back party that you thought he was cute."

Adyson sighed in frustration as she walked alongside the look, looking at Isabella as she floated. "Am I not allowed to simply find a guy cute?"

Isabella stopped floating on her back and swam towards the side of the pool near Adyson. "Of course you're allowed, but that's not the point."

"So what is the point, then?"

Isabella grabbed a nearby ladder and climbed out of her pool. She wrapped a towel around her midsection and grabbed another for her hair as she walked back over to Adyson.

"This isn't just something that's a recent phenomenon, Addie," she told her while drying her hair. "You haven't _just_ recently started liking Django. You've liked him all along. It's just that now you're both older and those feelings are far stronger than they were when you were little."

"But he's just so…I mean even if you're right, and I'm not saying you are yet Izzie, there are things about him that just bother me so much!"

Isabella laughed at the comment. "Welcome to the world of liking a guy. Do you think any of us who're romantically involved like every single thing about our boyfriends?"

"Well, yeah. You especially."

Isabella shook her head at her friend. "Even Phineas has his moments, trust me. For the life of me if I never see another Space Adventure movie I'll consider myself blessed, but he loves them and insists on quoting lines from whichever one of the movies we happen to be watching. Sometimes he'll even drop a quote out of the blue when he thinks it's appropriate. It's the height of aggravating. But I love him despite it all."

"Pet peeves are one thing, though. There are things about Django's attitude and even things he believes in that I'm not sure I can deal with. We've grown to become two very different people."

"Are these things so bad that they make you dislike him?"

"Absolutely not!"

Adyson practically shouted the answer. Isabella stifled another chuckle at how quickly and energetically she had responded.

"Are these things anything that you might be willing and able to help him change about himself," Isabella asked, continuing her line of questioning.

"…I _would_ like to go shopping with him sometime for some better clothes," Adyson said after pondering for a few moments.

"Adyson, just face it already. You like Django a lot. A **whole** lot. My advice to you is this: If you want to deal with these feelings **and** start getting some fun out of your summer, the best possible answer is for you to start going out with him."

"What if things don't go well between us, though? What if…we end up hating each other?"

"You won't know until you try, right?"

Isabella's comment immediately made Adyson recall saying the exact same thing to Django the previous day. The irony of it was certainly not lost on her.

"Fortune favors the bold," she added quietly. "But…I just really don't know, Izzie."

"You'll figure it out," Isabella told her as she stretched out on a deck chair to sun herself. "Maybe yet today even. Django will be over with Phineas pretty soon after all."

Adyson's eyes went wide with shock. "**WHAT**?"

"Oh please, Addie. Do you think much of anything goes on with any of the girls that I don't know about? I've been talking to Katie, Ginger, and Gretchen all week about this. I invited Phineas over to swim today too, and I told him to see if Django wanted to come as well, which he did. Don't worry; I didn't mention that you'd be here too."

"You could've at least told _me_ before I came over! I could've picked a nicer swimsuit than this plain old red one-piece!"

Isabella could barely contain her amusement. "Oh so now you're all concerned about how you look because Django's coming?"

"Of course! I mean, no! I mean…gah!"

"Just relax. Boys like girls in just about any swimsuit."

"Easy for you to say, you've actually got a good figure, a tan, and a nice swimsuit," Adyson said, looking over Isabella's violet-colored two-piece. "I'm about as plain as you can get. Not to mention I'm white as a sheet."

"Adyson, try having a little confidence in yourself. You said Django admitted to finding you attractive, so go with that."

"But I still don't…I mean he's just a…I'm not really…oh why is this so confusing?"

"Like I said earlier, welcome to the world of liking a guy."

Adyson shook her head in a combination of confusion and disappointment as she began walking towards the diving board. "I need to do something to clear my head. I'm gonna take a quick dip, okay?"

"Have at it. That's why I invited you over in the first place."

Moments later, just as Adyson had completed her dive into the deep end of the pool, Phineas and Django arrived. Phineas wore dark blue swim trunks while Django's were light blue with a Hawai'ian floral pattern on them. Both had towels hanging around their necks.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it," Isabella told them. "We were getting a little bored hanging out by the pool by ourselves."

"We," Phineas repeated questioningly. "I don't see anyone else here."

Isabella grinned at him. "Wait for it."

Django was about to echo Phineas' confusion when it happened. It was like a scene out of some movie, and it felt like it was happening in slow-motion to boot. Adyson emerged from underwater at the end of the pool just in front of Django and pushed herself up out of the water using the edge of the pool wall. She threw her head back to get her wet hair out of her face, which had the effect of arching her back and thrusting her chest out a bit. Her wet swimsuit hugged every small curve on her athletic body as well. All told it gave Django a whole new perspective on a girl he was already harboring burgeoning feelings for, and as such it left him positively dumbstruck.

"That was refreshing," Adyson said as she ran her hands through her wet hair to make sure it stayed out of her face. "Oh, hey guys. What's wrong with Django?"

"You can be a little on the evil side sometimes, Izzie," Phineas told his girlfriend as he smirked at her. "You know that, right?"

Isabella simply donned a pair of sunglasses and lay back on her chair again. "Yes. Yes I do."

* * *

_Thursday Evening_

Adyson hugged her knees as she sat beside the pool. Phineas and Isabella were chatting away as they tended to the grill for dinner that night. Django was still inside showering and cleaning up after all the swimming he'd done. Adyson herself had long since changed out of her swimsuit into a sleeveless blouse and capris with sandals on her feet. The day had never really gotten all that hot, and the evening was cooling off rapidly. As another shiver came over her, she felt a dry towel get draped over her shoulders. She looked up and saw Django, who'd just returned.

"Chilly evening, huh," he commented as he sat in the chair next to hers.

"Yeah," she replied. "You okay?"

"For now. One thing that is good about Cali is the temperature. I was never good at dealing with the cold."

"I'm not exactly a fan myself, but I don't mind it. It's part of living here, after all."

"That's true. So, how was your day today?"

"Not bad at all. This week's been getting progressively better as I think about it."

"I'm glad to hear that. You seem like you've been in need of some cheering up lately."

"I've…had a lot on my mind is all."

"Anything you wanna talk about? I'm all ears."

"Well…half of it is I just feel like I've been wasting my summer vacation so far. I've had a couple good times this week so far, granted, but…I just haven't done anything really interesting or fun yet. I don't want to start school again and feel like I didn't do anything for three months."

"I can appreciate that, but what's the other half?"

"The other half is something I'm not prepared to talk about right now. I'm sorry, but it's…really difficult."

"I can appreciate that too, and I'll respect your privacy. Just understand that I'm here for you if or when you do want to talk."

"Thank you, Django. I promise sometime soon I will talk about it. Just not now."

"You're welcome. As for your first problem, I think I might just have an idea for you."

"At this point I'll try just about anything."

"Are you free tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, I don't have anything going on. Why?"

"Can you meet me in Danville Park at about eight A.M.?"

"I guess, but what do you have in mind?"

"I kinda want to keep it a surprise, if you're cool with that. Just come wearing clothes you're comfortable in, nothing fancy. And make sure you're wearing tennis shoes."

Adyson smiled and shook her head to herself. "Okay. This had better be good."

"Do you trust me?"

Adyson was about to answer offhandedly, but saw an uncommonly serious look on Django's face as he looked at her. It felt oddly compelling to see him like that, and she had to stop herself from leaning towards him as she found herself getting lost in his eyes for a moment.

"I trust you, Django," she said confidently. "I know you wouldn't ask me to try something unless you really did think I would like to some degree."

"Thanks, Addie," he replied, smiling warmly at her. "Now whadya say we get some dinner?"

"Sounds like a good call. I'm starving."

The two got up and went to check on the status of the burgers being grilled. As the night progressed, Adyson found her thoughts completely occupied by Django. At one point she found herself musing that whatever he had in store for the morning could be construed as a date from a certain point of view. She shook that thought out of her head as she ate, talked, and laughed with her friends. Her summer so far might not have been all that interesting, but she was having fun nonetheless. At that moment, that was all that seemed to matter.

* * *

_Friday Morning_

Adyson worriedly looked at her watch as she wandered into the park. It was still a few minutes before eight in the morning, but she didn't want to be late to meet Django. Whether this was actually a "date" or not, she didn't want him to think for a moment that she had blown him off. Just as she was about to reach for her cell phone in the pocket of her shorts, she spotted him stretching near a water fountain. She called out to him as she jogged over to meet him.

"Right on time," he commented as she reached him. "I shouldn't have expected any less from you."

"Don't kid yourself, I was late getting out of the house," she told him. "So what's this surprise idea of yours?"

Django did a few more stretches and then smiled brilliantly at her and pronounced, "We're gonna go running."

Adyson was understandably underwhelmed. "Running? That's it?"

"Well, yes and no. You'll see as we go. For now let's just get underway."

Adyson had to force herself to not get sarcastic with him right then and there. There had to be something more to this if Django had specifically asked her to come do it with him. She nodded and the two began to jog side-by-side through the park.

"I gotta say, I never picked you to be an exercise nut," she said once they'd been underway for a couple of minutes.

"Oh, I'm not," he replied.

"What? Then why the heck are we running? Are we heading somewhere?"

"Maybe, but that's not the point. You'd be surprised the kind of fun you can have while running. The joy is in the journey, after all."

"Django, you're making no sense at all."

Django sighed, but upon seeing a change in the landscape ahead he quickly smiled.

"Maybe this'll help you figure it out," he told her.

Before Adyson could get another word in, Django took off at a much faster pace towards a set of tiered stairs that led up a rather large hill in the park. Each tier had a section of wall to it as well, which were staggered like massive stairs for a giant. She saw him running straight for the first section of wall and called out to him to warn him, but in the next moment she realized her concern wasn't necessary. Django jumped, his right foot touching the wall just enough to give him an extra push upwards. He grabbed the top of the wall and hoisted himself up it in one motion. He then continued upwards along the walls doing the same thing all the way up.

As Adyson approached the obstacle herself she quickly decided she wasn't capable of doing the same thing. Instead she took the stairs, but taking a cue from Django's ascent she decided to take the steps two or three at a time instead of one at a time. She reached the top moments after Django finished pulling himself up the final wall. They both stopped to catch their breaths for a moment.

"That was amazing," she told him between breaths. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"In San Fran, where else," he told her. "My friend Vic introduced me to free running out there."

"I've heard of that before. That's where guys run all over the place, climbing and flipping and stuff, right?"

"That's it, but there's more to it than just a bunch of stunts. I thought you might like to try it out yourself. You being a former Fireside Girl, I figured you did your fair share of climbing and such."

"Oh yeah, I certainly did," Adyson said with a laugh, recalling the many times she ended up tethered to Gretchen on various climbing expeditions. "So how's this work, then?"

"Just figure out how you want to go, it's that simple."

"But wouldn't the stairs have just been the easiest way to go back there?"

"The easy way isn't always the best way. Just do what feels right to you. C'mon, let's go!"

Django took off running again, with Adyson quickly on his heels. Together they traversed the park like few others ever had. They vaulted over low walls, ran up slides and across teeter totters on playgrounds, and jumped benches like hurdles. Adyson even saw Django add a forward roll or even a flip as a flourish after getting past some obstacles and did the same as well herself at times.

After a couple of hours of running, broken up by stops to catch their breath or get some water, the two finally came to the fountain in the middle of the park. They sat next to each other on the edge of the fountain as they caught their breath once again.

"I gotta admit," Adyson told him as she leaned back on her hands, "that was the most fun I've ever had while running. Not to mention the most fun I've had in a while period."

"I knew you'd love it if you gave it a try," Django replied. "Admittedly I'm not as good as Vic is, but I'm working at it."

"Are you kidding? You flipped while jumping over that one park bench! You had me impressed."

"Compared to you scaling that playground equipment by climbing the fireman's pole that was nothing. How'd you do that?"

"Don't you remember? I used to do that when we were kids at recess all the time."

"Yeah but that was years ago! You must still be pretty fit to pull that off now."

"I try to stay in shape, yeah. But the same goes for you if you can do this kinda stuff."

"More like doing this stuff is what keeps me in shape, heh."

"Well for exercise, this is pretty fun. Thanks for inviting me to do this, Django."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I could share this with you. Though to tell the truth, I had a selfish reason for asking you to do this too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, well…I mean we are alone doing this together and all. It's kind of an odd one, but it's still-"

"-kind of like a date." Adyson finished his sentence for him, causing Django a bit of embarrassment.

"So you thought that too, huh," he asked, suddenly finding it hard to make eye contact with her.

"It was hard not to," she replied, acting likewise.

"So do you think?"

"About what?"

Django forced himself to look back up at her again. "About this. About dating. About…me?"

Adyson fell silent for a moment and then stood up, turning away from him.

"Remember that other half I couldn't talk to you about yesterday," she asked him.

"Yeah."

"This is it.

"Oh…I see."

"It's not…don't get me wrong, Django. Like I said, it's difficult."

"What's so difficult about it? Adyson, you know I-"

Adyson whirled to look at him, her eyes pleading with him. "Don't say it! For God's sake, please, Django! Not now…at least not yet. I'm still so confused. My heart's telling me one thing and my head is telling me the exact opposite and I don't know which one to listen to anymore. There's only one thing I know for sure, and that's if we did get together it's only going to end up hurting us both."

Django stood up now, his expression showing that he was clearly beginning to get upset. "How do you figure that?"

"Because you don't live here anymore," Adyson said, practically shooting the words at him. "Danville is **not** your home, Django, San Francisco is. You said it yourself back at your welcome party. How exactly is any relationship between us going to work or even last if we're hundreds of miles away from each other for most of the year? I'm not sure I can do that, and I don't want to make you suffer through that either. It would just make the most sense if-"

"Damn it, Adyson, I don't care what makes sense!"

Adyson froze in utter shock at Django's exclamation. She didn't know what was more surprising: hearing him swear, even if it was rather mildly, or seeing him actually get angry. Django walked slowly over towards her and stopped just a few feet away from her, his eyes locked on hers.

"I told you before that I came here for the summer because Jenny's gonna be in Candace's wedding," he told her. "But that's just the cover story. The reality is I had to get away from that place. I **begged** my dad to let me come out here with Jenny. The people and the lifestyle out there drive me absolutely crazy, Addie! I tried to make friends out there. You know how many real friends I have? Two! You know both of them by name now from my stories. Everyone else out there thinks I'm not worth their time.

"You know how many times I've tried to get a girlfriend out there? I've had six first dates and zero second dates. The girls there are so vapid and self-absorbed that every time I try to date one of them I end up disgusted with myself for thinking they might be more dynamic and interesting than cardboard! And then I come back here and I meet you again. I remembered all the good times we had as kids and I remembered how much I liked you back then. And now on top of all that you've become this incredibly pretty girl who's smart, has a razor-sharp wit, and a passion for life. Is it any wonder that I'm crazy about you?

"I know I have to go back in about two months. I know it'd be hard to maintain a relationship from that far away. But I can't help myself anymore, Adyson. I can't help how I feel, and I refuse to let something as stupid as reason or logic tell me what would be 'best' to do. I like you. I think I may even love you, Addie. If I only have two months to spend with you, then I want to spend that time being with you and making you the happiest girl in the Tri-State Area."

"Django…" Adyson said his voice quietly as she was still reeling from his rant. "What…what am I supposed to say to that? What am **I** supposed to do?"

"Just answer one question for me, Addie. In all honesty, what am I to you?"

Adyson searched for an answer, but it was futile given her state of mind. "I…I…I'm sorry. I don't know. I honestly don't know right now. I'm so sorry…"

Adyson sobbed a little as her emotions overcame her. Django moved to try and comfort her, but she quickly recoiled from him.

"Please…don't, Django. I…I need time to think. Alone."

"I understand," Django said, nodding to her. "I'm sorry, Addie. I didn't mean to dump all of this on you like this."

Adyson shook her head at him as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "No, don't be sorry. You can't help how you feel. Besides, this is very like you. You've always been very well in touch with your feelings. I think that's why you're such an amazing artist. I'm just…very terrible about this sort of thing."

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Anytime."

Adyson shook her head at him. "Not this. I need to figure it out myself. But I'll make you a promise."

Django simply nodded to her as she stood up straight and took a deep breath.

"Phineas and Ferb's family always has a party on the Fourth of July," she told him. "Come to that party. I promise you…one way or another I'll have an answer to your question then and there."

Django nodded at her. "I'll be there without fail."

Adyson nodded in return and turned to leave, but paused to say one last thing. "For what it's worth, Django? I did think of this as a date too. And I had a really good time with you. The best I've had all summer so far. Thank you."

With that said, Adyson took off running once again, leaving Django alone to wonder what was left for him to do to try and win the heart of the girl he'd been in love with for as long as he could remember.

**_To Be Concluded..._**

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Part one of the three part Independence Day Extravaganza! Phineas and Ferb begin plans for the biggest and best Fourth of July Party ever. But how will finding out about Django's romantic troubles with Adyson affect their preparations?


	11. IDE Part One: Groundwork

**Independence Day Extravaganza Part One: Groundwork**

_How many special people change?  
How many lives are living strange?  
Where were you while we were getting high?_

* * *

"Something about this feels like déjà vu all over again," Linda said as she looked at her sons who were, once again, on bended knee pleading with her.

"This time it's different," Phineas insisted as he turned slightly to his mother's left. "Because we're begging dad too."

"He's got a point there, darling," Lawrence added. "But what you boys are asking is a lot bigger than a welcome home party this time. Are you sure you can handle this?"

"We're planning on pulling together a team of our friends to help us prepare and coordinate everything," Phineas told him. "And just like with Django's party, Ferb and I will handle cleanup."

"You did do a really good job cleaning up after that one, I'll admit," Linda said as she folded her arms. "But boys, you do know that this is usually a really, and I mean **really**, big party right?"

"We're well aware of the magnitude, mother," Ferb said. "That's part of why we want to do it; so you and father can simply relax and enjoy it instead of working yourselves to the bone."

"Ferb's right," Phineas added quickly. "We've seen how exhausted you guys get after the party's all done, and we really don't think that's right at all. We're totally capable of handling this, not to mention we had a lot of fun doing Django's party. This would be even more off the hook!"

Lawrence looked at Linda; his expression clearly showed he was being swayed. "It would be nice to not be dog tired at the end of the day, love."

"No arguments here on that point, but there's still one problem," Linda said as she looked particularly sternly at her sons. "How're you doing to handle the grand finale? And before you even think of saying it, I'm going to tell you right now that yes; you are too young for that."

"We've already got a plan for that," Phineas said, grinning widely. "We're going to plan the show, but we're going to get Jeremy and his friend Coltrane to run it. They're plenty old enough. Plus, we're going to add a laser light show to it as well, which will be run by computer. Baljeet's already volunteered to help us program it."

Linda was visibly impressed. "Huh. I guess you boys thought of pretty much everything then. What do you think, Lawrence?"

"It's not like we won't be around in case they end up needing an extra hand on anything," Lawrence replied. "And they did do a smashing job with that party earlier this summer. It's hard to come up with a valid reason to not let them give this a go."

"I guess that's that then," Linda said, putting a hand on both boys' shoulder. "You boys can handle the Fourth of July party this year."

"We won't let you down, mom," Phineas said, snapping to attention and saluting her, which Ferb mimicked as well.

Linda nodded as she and Lawrence turned back to their breakfasts. "I have faith in you both, Phineas. You'd both better get to work. You've only got today and tomorrow to get ready."

"C'mon Ferb," Phineas said enthusiastically. "I know what we're gonna do this weekend!"

A few short minutes later, the boys were in their room with their network online and with several of their friends already having joined them via their own webcams.

"This won't take too long, will it Phineas," Katie asked as she quickly looked into her camera again before walking back around her room again. "I have practice in half an hour."

"We're just waiting on a few more people, Katie," Phineas told her. "By the way, have you heard from Adyson at all? She's not online so I texted her to join us, but I haven't heard back."

"That's a little weird. She's usually pretty prompt about responding. Maybe her cell's charging or something. I'll check in with her later."

As Phineas thanked her, two more cameras popped up for Buford and Milly respectively.

"Hey guys," Milly said cheerily. She then blew a kiss into her camera. "And hello to you especially, sweetie."

"Mornin' babe," Buford said back to her with a grin. He then turned his attention to Phineas. "So what's the deal, Dinner Bell? We doin' this?"

Phineas nodded to him. "Oh it's on, Buford. Ferb and I just got the green light earlier."

"Sweet! So whatcha want me to do?"

"Just hang on, man. I want everyone online before we start assigning duties."

"Not to put too fine a point on it," Baljeet said, looking over in Buford's direction, "but you already know what you're going to be asked to do, Buford. There aren't many other duties suitable for you."

"Hey, you never know," Buford retorted. "Maybe he wants me to apply my artistic sensibilities to the decorations for once."

Everyone else present, Milly included, immediately burst out laughing at the idea of Buford and his "artistic sensibilities". In the midst of all this laughter, Holly and Gretchen finally both came online, rounding the group out.

"We missed something hilarious, didn't we," Holly asked disappointedly.

"Yes," Isabella said, still trying to catch her breath from laughing. "Yes you did."

Holly sighed a bit. "Just another fun thing I've missed out on this summer."

"Sorry, Holly," Ferb said apologetically. "How's your practice been going, though?"

"Really well," she replied. "I just hope I'm ready for the recital in a few weeks."

"You'll be fine," Katie told her. "I've heard you play, and it's beautiful Holly."

"Much as I'd love to talk more about Holly's music," Phineas said, getting everyone's attention, "we do have a lot to figure out and not a lot of time to do it in. If everyone's settled, let's get this planning meeting underway."

As the gang of teenagers settled down, Ferb touched Ginger's webcam window first and dragged it to the top center of the desktop.

"Ginger, we'll be asking you to coordinate the guest list once again," Ferb told her. "Also to keep tabs on who's doing what and their progress."

"You've got it, Ferb," she replied. "I'll report in to you guys regularly with updates."

"Baljeet," Phineas said, pulling Baljeet's window off to the left a bit. "Are you still up for helping to program the laser light show?"

"I've already got some code ready to go," Baljeet replied. "And I'm also working on a simulation program to let us test our scenarios before we finalize anything."

"Holly," Ferb said, pulling her window off to the right. "I know you're busy, but do you suppose you could give me a hand with music selection and playlist building? You do have the largest music library of any of us, after all."

"Oh I'll **make** time for this," Holly said, rubbing her hands together in excitement.

"The rest of you girls," Phineas said, pulling down Isabella's, Gretchen's, Katie's, and Milly's windows, "I have down for food prep and decorations. You think you can handle it? We've potentially got a lot of people coming through here."

"Compared to the old Fireside Jamboree crowd, this won't be a thing," Isabella said confidently. "Right girls?"

"Aye aye, captain!" all three of the other girls responded with a crisp salute.

"Finally, Buford," Ferb said, pulling his window to the very middle of the screen. "The girls will probably need your help with setup once they have the decorations laid out, but obviously your main job will be security. There will no doubt be crashers and perhaps a troublemaker or two. Think you can deal with them?"

"Psh," Buford said, scoffing at the question. "It's more a question of how permanently you want 'em dealt with."

"Try not to leave any permanent scars," Ferb told him.

"Roger that," Buford replied with a nod.

"That should just about do it then," Ferb said. "Holly, if you could spare just a few minutes here so we can start brainstorming playlist ideas I'd appreciate it."

"Everyone else, you know your tasks," Phineas said, addressing the group. "If you have any questions, you know where to find us."

As the gang signed off to get to their tasks one by one, Phineas grinned and grabbed his notepad to begin writing down his ideas for the fireworks and laser show. He had worked for years to earn the honor of putting together the biggest party his family threw every year, and he was determined to make it one for the record books.

* * *

"All right, we need a main dish idea," Isabella said to her fellow members of the food and decorations committee for the party. They had all gathered at her home a couple hours after finishing the planning meeting. "Something that says 'All American' but that would be easy to produce in large quantities."

"Well you don't get much more American than-" Gretchen began to say.

"We're not doing hot dogs again," Isabella told her immediately.

"Aww!" Gretchen pouted at being shot down.

"Sorry, Gretchen, but we did that for one party already this summer. Anyone else have an idea?"

"Well it's not a main course, but I was thinking apple pie for desserts," Milly said. "We could make them small enough to be carried around too."

"Good call," Isabella said, quickly writing the idea down.

"Should we figure on ice cream as well," Katie asked. "This is the Fourth of July we're talking about; it's bound to be hot."

"Also a good call," Isabella said, adding ice cream next to the pies. "But we still need a main dish idea."

"Hot dogs could still work…" Gretchen said quietly.

"We're **not** doing hot dogs again," Isabella said, now getting annoyed with her bespectacled friend.

Gretchen leaned towards Isabella, narrowing her eyes at her. "You can't tell me you're honestly going to consider hamburgers. They'll be too much work for as many people as we're likely to get."

"How much trouble is it going to be to form ground beef into a patty and cook it on a grill," Isabella replied.

"You don't have to form anything with a hot dog! It's all set to go already!"

"Um, guys," Milly said, trying to get both of their attention.

"We're **NOT** doing hot dogs again" Isabella said insistently.

"Guys…" Milly said it again.

"Good luck cooking burgers fast enough to feed hundreds of people, then," Gretchen retorted.

At this point, Milly took a deep breath and shouted, "Knock it off, you two!"

Isabella and Gretchen recoiled in fear as Milly recomposed herself and, in a much more pleasant tone, said, "Why don't we just do both so people can choose? You don't get much more American than giving people freedom of choice."

"…That's brilliant!" Isabella and Gretchen said in tandem.

"Big Mama Milly scores another win," Katie said to herself with a chuckle.

"Did you say something, Katie," Milly asked sweetly.

"Nope, nothing at all," Katie said, quickly looking away.

* * *

"I know I said earlier that you had the largest music library of any of us," Ferb said as he perused Holly's computer through the network, "but this is incredible. You easily have triple of our collection."

"I've still got tons of stuff that needs ripping," Holly lamented. "Not to mention my grandpa's collection of LPs. I'm hoping I get a USB turntable for my birthday so I can get that music turned digital too."

"Phineas and I might be able to help in that department sometime, if you like."

Holly smiled at the idea and stretched her hands out as she began scrolling through the various playlists she already had set up. "I will definitely keep that in mind, thanks Ferb. Now, exactly what kind of auditory assault do you want to perpetrate on our peeps?"

Ferb cracked a smile as he began contemplating each playlist as it came up before him. The good part was that there really were no bad choices to be made. The bad part was trying to settle on just enough music for a twelve-hour party.

* * *

"Are you out of your mind," Baljeet said in amazement. "If we don't keep the show lower to the ground we could disrupt airline pilots, Phineas!"

"And if it's not high enough no one will be able to see it," Phineas retorted.

"All the same, I would rather not have to explain to my parents why we're being questioned by FBI agents and the FAA about our laser light show."

"Can we at least have it above the roof of the house, then? Last time I checked my house doesn't exactly get buzzed by seven-thirty-sevens on a daily basis. Or ever, for that matter."

"Can I trust you to not adjust the angles higher once the show is underway," Baljeet asked, looking at Phineas skeptically.

"I think you're being far too paranoid about this, 'Jeet."

"Fine, but when the black ops agents descend on the house **you** can be the one to explain why to your parents."

Both boys went silent as they each resumed coding their parts of the show. After several minutes of glancing at each other, Baljeet turned around to face his friend again.

"I'm sorry, Phineas," he said. "I just know this party is a big deal for you and Ferb and I don't want you getting in trouble for something I had a hand in. I'm quite familiar with your penchant for overdoing things."

"No, that's cool man," Phineas replied. "Honestly that's part of why I wanted you to help work on this with me. I need someone to help me keep this thing in check."

"We'll still make it a fantastic show, I promise that. Let's just make sure it doesn't draw any unwanted attention."

"Right on. Now, show me what you've got so far."

Phineas scooted over as Baljeet began running his code through their previewing software. As he watched, Phineas' smile grew steadily wider. This was going to be the grandest finale to a party ever.

* * *

That evening, all those involved with the party preparations had gathered in Phineas and Ferb's backyard to discuss their progress for the day. Ginger looked over the checklist on the clipboard she brought and smiled at the results.

"It looks like we're actually a little ahead of schedule so far," she said after compiling all the information. "The guest list is coming together pretty well too, but…"

"But what," Phineas asked.

"I tried contacting Adyson several times today by phone, text, and email. She hasn't responded at all."

"Did she go out of town, perhaps," Ferb asked, looking at Katie.

"No way," Katie told him. "If anything I know she's been trying to inject some more fun into her summer recently. She knows this party was coming and she would've wanted to come to this party more than anything."

"It could be technical issues on her end," Baljeet conjectured. "Perhaps we should go over and check on her systems for her."

"Somehow I doubt every form of communication available to her went down for her all at once," Gretchen said. "There's got to be some other reason she hasn't responded to us."

"There is, and it's me," Django said, announcing his presence. He had entered the backyard silently, which wasn't so surprising for him. What was surprising to everyone was the totally dejected and exhausted look on his face.

"Django, are you alright," Isabella asked him. "And more to the point, what're you talking about?"

Django sighed and leaned against the tree as the others gathered around him. "To answer your first question, Isabella, I've been better. I hardly slept last night. As for the second…yesterday I had some alone time with Adyson in the morning."

"Alone time," Milly said, repeating his words. She then gasped in surprise. "You mean a date?"

"Sort of," Django told her. "But, well…it didn't exactly end how I'd anticipated."

"She didn't reject you, did she," Gretchen asked.

Django shook his head. "No, but she made it abundantly clear that she needed time to herself. I guess her feelings are confusing her or something like that."

"That explains that then," Ginger noted. "She must be blocking everyone out right now, not just Django."

"That's ridiculous," Isabella said, sounding somewhat disgusted at the turn of events. "At times like this we should be there for her! Right, Phineas?"

It was only when she went to ask her boyfriend his opinion that Isabella, and everyone else for that matter, realized that Phineas was suddenly, and inexplicably, missing.

"Ferb, Phineas _was_ just here, wasn't he," Isabella asked him.

"Yeah, I dunno where he popped off to," Ferb said, looking around for his brother. "For all I know he's wherever Perry goes off to every day."

"Guys, don't sweat it," Django told them. "I don't think any of us should be trying to force the issue for Adyson. I can't help but feel like I was doing just that yesterday, and that's what drove her to isolate herself. The last thing I ever wanted was to cause her heartache and it seems like that's exactly what I ended up doing."

Katie stepped over by him, looking fairly surprised. "You've really got it bad for Addie, don't you?"

"There's no one like her back in California," Django told her. "And I'll never find anyone like her ever again, I just know it. At the time when we were together yesterday I felt like I just had to take a chance. But now…"

"Don't go there, Django," Katie told him insistently. "Don't for a minute regret it. Adyson might not be willing to admit it, but you are exactly the kind of guy she needs in her life. So please, don't give up."

"She said she would answer me at the party here at the guys' house on the Fourth," Django replied with a shrug. "At first I tried to simply resign myself to waiting. That didn't work so well. I think I slept for maybe an hour last night."

"Whoa, not good dude," Buford told him. "I'm surprised you're still on your feet. Sleep deprivation ain't somethin' to mess with."

"At this point I'm not sure I could go to sleep if I wanted," Django said as he wavered a bit. "I'm so worked up over wondering what she'll say the next time I see her that my brain just won't shut down."

"We need to get you some help, then," Gretchen said. "Anyone got any ideas?"

"I deal with little kids who have a hard time getting to sleep all the time," Milly said. "Granted they're a lot younger than Django, but I might know a trick or two to help him shut his brain down."

"I'll try just about anything if it means I can get at least six hours of sleep," Django told her. "But before that, I want to talk to Ferb alone if that's alright with everyone."

As the group consented, Ferb and Django walked into the garade to talk one-to-one. Django leaned against the freezer while Ferb simply stood by the door to make sure no one walked in on them.

"What's on your mind," Ferb asked.

"I want your help with something tomorrow," Django told him. "It hopefully won't take long and I'll even pitch in to help with party prep if you need to make up the time, but…I want to improve my appearance."

"Django, there's nothing wrong with how you look."

"Maybe not to you or me, but it's clearly a big deal to Adyson. She brings it up almost every time I see her. I may have no idea what her answer is gonna be on Monday at the party, but I wanna give myself the best possible chance; even if that means making some changes to myself and how I do things."

Ferb frowned at the idea, but saw that Django was in no mind to discuss anything at great length. "I don't agree with your reasoning, but alright. I'll come with you for a bit tomorrow."

"Thanks, man. You don't know what it means to me."

"Yes, well, go find Milly now and see what kind of advice she can give you for getting a decent night's sleep tonight. Call me tomorrow when you're ready."

Django left to return to the backyard while Ferb paced the garage a bit.

'Bloody hell,' he thought. 'We've got a ton of preparing left to do and now we not only have Django and Adyson's drama to deal with, but Phineas has gone missing. Honestly, Phineas, where have you gone off to? I need your help now more than ever.'

Ferb resolved to have a thorough talk with his brother the next opportunity he had. For the time being, all he could do was return to the others in the backyard and try to keep as much going on schedule as possible for the party. Suddenly it felt like the time they had left to them just wouldn't be enough to accomplish everything they wanted.

* * *

**Preview of Next Episode:** With Phineas missing and much work still to be done for the party, Ferb must now further jeopardize things by trying to help Django sort out his problems with Adyson. Will Ferb be able to get through to him? And will Phineas be found in time to get things done?


	12. IDE Part Two: Some Assembly Required

**Independence Day Extravaganza: Some Assembly Required**

_Slowly walking down the hall.  
Faster than a cannonball.  
Where were you while we were getting high?_

* * *

Ferb tossed and turned as the alarm clock continued to emit its increasingly annoying cacophony of sounds engineered solely for the purpose of rousing anyone still asleep in the room. It wasn't for the sake of more sleep that he resisted its call; he was in fact quite awake. Rather, it was supposed to be Phineas' duty to turn the blasted device off since it was on his side of the room; yet another duty he was now in dereliction of.

"For crying out loud, Phineas," Ferb yelled, finally hitting his limit. He armed himself with a pillow and glared across the room. "Turn off the bloody-"

Ferb stopped mid-sentence and saw that Phineas' bed was both empty and already made. He grumbled to himself as he trudged across the room and turned the alarm clock off on his own. He then stopped and looked at Phineas' bed while he once again pondered his brother's whereabouts and actions since the previous night.

'Gone again already,' he thought to himself. 'I know he came back late last night, I woke up just enough to notice him creep into the room. I wish I'd have been able to wake up enough to find out what he was up to last night. Maybe Candace or someone else saw him this morning.'

Ferb quickly went through his morning routine and hurried downstairs. As fortune had it, Candace was just pouring her first cup of coffee as she looked over a list of menu options for her wedding receiption.

"Morning Ferb," she said without looking at him. "How're the party plans coming?"

"They'd be going better if Phineas were around," Ferb told her as he set to making some toast for himself. "Have you seen him this morning?"

Candace had to stop and think for a moment about it. "Now that you mention it, I haven't. Of course, that may not count for much since I'm pretty pre-occupied right now."

Ferb had to restrain himself from pounding the kitchen counter with a fist. "Blast it all! Where did he go off to?"

"Why not just call him? He's got to have his cell phone on him."

"No, my guess is he's trying to be secretive on purpose. Odds are he wouldn't answer me even if I called him incessantly, and I don't have the time to waste on that."

"Well if I see or hear from him before you, I'll read him the riot act. Check in with Isabella before you do anything else, though. Maybe she's seen or heard from him."

"Good idea, thanks Candace."

"Hey, if you really want to thank me then give me your opinion: roast beef or chicken cordon bleu for an entrée choice for the wedding reception?"

"I'd go with the chicken, myself. It's a bit more sophisticated while still being a familiar dish to people."

"So noted. Thanks!"

Ferb finished preparing and eating his breakfast in record time and then headed out from his house to seek out Isabella. He didn't have to search too much for her, as she appeared from her house just as he finished crossing the street.

"Let me guess," he said as she approached. "You haven't seen or heard from Phineas since yesterday either, have you?"

Isabella shook her head at him, a worried expression on her face. "This really isn't like him, Ferb. Why isn't he answering anyone?"

"I'd like to think my brother has a particularly good reason for this, but I'm so used to him conferring with me first on anything that I can't help but have a bad feeling about it."

"This calls for some emergency assistance," Isabella said, quickly producing her cell phone.

"Who're you calling? Gretchen? Ginger?"

"Nope, we need some professional assistance."

Isabella sent off a quick text message and, just as she was putting her phone away, Melissa rode up on her bicycle dressed in her Fireside Girls uniform. She hopped off and saluted Isabella crisply.

"Reporting as ordered," Melissa said.

"That was unrealistically fast," Ferb commented.

"I've got my 'Early Responder' patch," Melissa said proudly.

"Melissa, I need you and the troop to see if you can track down Phineas," Isabella told her. "He's been MIA since last night and we can't seem to contact him at all."

"I'll station the girls around town and we'll report in if we see any sign of him," Melissa replied.

Isabella smiled warmly at her protégé. "Thanks, Melissa. I'll be sure to make it worth your guys' while at the party tomorrow."

Melissa quickly grabbed her phone and hit one of her speed dial buttons. "Suzy, get the girls together and meet me at the lodge ASAP. We've got a high-priority mission."

Melissa quickly saluted Isabella again and then took off on her bike for the Fireside Girls lodge. Isabella sighed contentedly as she watched her ride off.

"So young and full of life," she commented. "That sure takes me back."

"If you're done reminiscing, we should probably get on with business," Ferb said. "How's food prep coming?"

"We've got a good menu assembled. We're gonna start assembling things today for ease of cooking and setup tomorrow."

"Good. If you can, call Holly for me and tell her to continue working on the music lists as she can. I hate to monopolize her time like this, but I don't have much choice."

"I guess I can do that, but why not call her yourself?"

"I've got another pressing matter I need to be ready for today."

"This has something to do with whatever Django talked to you about last night, doesn't it?"

"Indeed. Sorry to impose on you further as well, Isabella."

"It's no big thing. I'll call her up in a bit here for you."

Ferb thanked her again and headed back to his home to await Django's call. Hopefully Django had gotten some decent sleep that night so he would be easier to talk to, and more importantly, get straightened out about how best to handle things with Adyson at the party.

* * *

A magnificent yawn escaped from Ferb as he sat with his head propped on his hand while Django continued to pick through clothing racks looking for something – anything in fact – that might improve his image. Ferb had anticipated that, being a guy, clothes shopping with Django would have only taken ten or fifteen minutes at most. They were now well into their second hour and no closer to finding an acceptable solution than when they began. As it turned out, Django's eye for art made him incredibly fussy when it came to new clothes. Not to mention that thanks to Jenny's influence he was also terribly averse to clothes not made at least mostly from natural fabrics.

"I think we'll have to hit another store," Django said disappointedly. "There's almost nothing worth even trying on here."

"I think if we hit another store there is going to be a murder-suicide," Ferb told him somewhat menacingly, his eye twitching slightly as he spoke. "It's a Fourth of July party, Django. It's not like you're preparing to meet the queen."

"I just want to give Adyson a good impression of me for once. No matter what I say or do she always comes back to how I look. Maybe if I surprise her like this it'll change her mind."

"Do you honestly think Adyson is the sort of person whose mind could be changed simply because you're wearing clothes you're not comfortable in? I was of the impression that it was precisely that sort of girl you were trying to steer clear of, since you've told us all time and again about the superficiality of girls in California."

Django sighed dejectedly as he turned to look into a nearby mirror. "I guess you have a point. But…what am I supposed to do, then, Ferb? How am I supposed to change her mind?"

Ferb stood up and smoothed out his own clothing as he took a couple steps towards his friend. "What makes you think her mind will need changing?"

"Dude, you weren't there on Friday. I could tell from what she said and how she said it; she's gonna shoot me down."

"Again, you're basing this on the girls you've tried to date in the past. And again, you yourself have made it abundantly clear that you think- no, that you **know** that Adyson isn't like those girls."

"What're you getting at, Ferb," Django asked, clearly annoyed with him at this point. "I brought you along to help me out here and all you've done is to basically tell me that I'm going about this all wrong."

"That is _exactly_ my point, and I think it's far more helpful than trying to pick out some ridiculous outfit that doesn't suit you."

Django looked away from him. "Yeah, well, that's not the kind of help I wanted."

"Tough. You came to me, remember? I'm not interested in giving useless help. What I am interested in is getting you to get your head straight about this."

Django growled a bit as he whirled on the British teen. "And what makes you such an expert on screwed up romantic feelings? Why are you so supposedly knowledgeable about this kind of thing?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Ferb. "Because nobody bloody knows better about screwed up romantic feelings than me!"

Django had to take a step back as he had never seen Ferb actually get angry before. Ferb turned to look in the mirror himself as he recalled the events of one particular day the prior year.

"Last year after Phineas and Isabella finally got together, I suddenly found myself quite lonesome," he said as he began his story. "I was left out of a number of things he did; necessarily, of course. I couldn't exactly just tag along on their dates. It was unbearable to me. I may be a good builder, but Phineas is the creative genius and without him I languished.

"One day when they were on a date, Candace treated me to lunch and I ran into someone…someone I'd had feelings towards for years. She was much older than me, but that had never stopped me from liking her. As I talked to her, though, I began to realize that she was nothing like what my image of her had been. At the moment, though, that didn't really seem to matter all that much to me. I was so lonesome that I started trying to convince myself that maybe if I changed myself to match what she was looking for in a romantic partner it could all work out between us somehow.

"That was until she revealed herself to be the embodiment of practically every quality that I loathe. She was haughty, judgmental, egotistical, and ignorant. Only then did I realize that even if turning myself into that kind of person would win her over, I would lose any sense of who I was in the process. I would be just as lonesome as I already was, only I would have given up everything I held dear for the sake of a relationship that would likely have failed before it had even started."

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul," Django said in a somewhat detached manner. Ferb looked at him oddly. "Sorry, I took a semester course last year on religious studies. Had to read The Bible for it. That's one of the few good things I got out of that read."

"It's an incredibly fitting quote though," Ferb told him, smiling once again. "And it's what I realized that day. After we had a falling out between us, the older girl walked out of the restaurant…and, presumably, my life. At the very least I haven't seen her since then. Quite frankly that suits me just fine since that very same day I realized I had someone who liked me for who I am. And I liked her for who she was…someone brilliant, beautiful, and genuine."

Django grinned a little and folded his arms. "You know, back in the day I honestly never knew you had a thing for Gretchen, or vice versa."

Ferb laughed lightly. "That's another story for another time, but my point in this story is this: If Adyson either has come to care for you in such a manner, or if she ever will for that matter, it will have been because of who you are; not who you think she wants you to become."

Django sighed heavily as Ferb's final words on the matter sunk in. Finally he briefly laughed sardonically as he smirked at Ferb.

"You know I used to have you pegged as the quiet guy," he told him. "Who knew you had so much to say? Especially about romance."

"I blame Phineas," Ferb replied. "Years of exposure to his incessant chattiness has finally rubbed off on me."

"Speaking of which, where's he at? I didn't see him in the backyard with you guys last night."

"That is the question of the moment, and no one seems to be able to answer it. Isabella has the younger Fireside Girls scouring the area for him. I hope they turn up something, I'm going to need his help to finish everything in time."

"Well if I can be of any help, consider me at your service. It's the least I can do for wasting so much of your time, dude."

"Thanks, Django. Let's get back to my house and check in with Ginger. We'll see where you can help out once she gives me an update."

As they set out for the Flynn-Fletcher home once again, Ferb silently prayed that someone – anyone – had found his brother. His absence was now becoming worrisome, and not just because of the remaining preparations that needed to be done for the party.

* * *

"Nothing yet at all," Baljeet asked over his cell phone.

"Melissa is as flustered as we are," Isabella replied from hers. "The girls have scoured and staked out every place Phineas is known to frequent and haven't seen him even once. I'm honestly beginning to panic a bit here."

"As soon as Ferb gets back I'll let him know. We can contemplate contacting the authorities then if we feel it's necessary. For now, let's just continue with our duties for the party."

"I'll do my best. Thanks 'Jeet."

Baljeet ended the call and then banged his head on the keyboard in front of him. It seemed like they were all spending more time fussing over Phineas than doing their work, and it was beginning to exact quite a toll from them all.

Baljeet had made a habit of punishing himself over the years for his own short fallings, but none of what he'd ever subjected himself to compared to the torture of checking the program code he was poring over line by line. Every time he blinked his eyes burned, and his neck was developing crick upon crick from being in the same position for so long. If Phineas were present they would likely already be done, but as it was he was positively grinding through the code.

"That's it," he said aloud to himself. "I have to take a break or this will drive me insane."

Baljeet saved his progress and headed out of Phineas and Ferb's room, feeling an odd breeze in the hall as he walked down the stairs. Upon reaching the kitchen, he considered the refrigerator for a moment.

"I think I remember Candace mentioning there was a new box of ice cream sandwiches in the freezer before she left," Baljeet said. Upon opening the freezer, however, he noticed the box of ice cream sandwiches was open with one missing. "Huh. She probably took one for herself."

Baljeet happily munched on the icy cold treat as he returned to the room. As soon as he entered, however, he almost choked on the bite he'd just taken. Phineas sat at the computer, his fingers flying as he tore through the code at a breakneck pace. An ice cream sandwich hung halfway out of his mouth as he worked furiously.

"I must be seeing things now," Baljeet said, rubbing his eyes. "You're a mirage of Phineas, right?"

Phineas turned to look at him as he consumed the rest of his ice cream sandwich. He looked at Baljeet curiously. "Uh…no. No I'm not, 'Jeet."

"Then how did you get in here?"

"I walked in. It is my room, after all."

Baljeet groaned in frustration. "That's not what I mean! How did you get in here without me seeing you?"

"Oh that. Heh. Sorry, 'Jeet, I don't have time to explain right now. I've got to get things back on track for the party here."

Baljeet stormed over to him and, hands on his hips, leaned over the red-haired teen with an angry expression. "Oh, you think? Ferb's been having a fit since you disappeared last night! Nevermind the fact that Isabella has become all but useless because she's worried about you!"

"Look, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to freak everyone out but… I really can't talk about it right now. I made a promise to someone and I can't go back on it."

"A promise to who?"

"Can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"Take your pick. Either way, I'm not talking about it now. And for that matter, we don't have the time to talk about it."

Baljeet rubbed his face in aggravation. "Fine, but you won't get off so easily when Ferb or Isabella catches up with you."

"I'll deal with that when I have to," Phineas said as he quickly saved the program and set it to compile. He then walked briskly past Baljeet. "Now come on, we've got to check on the girls and help them out next. I think they're just over at Isabella's house."

"Wait, why are you compiling the program? I wasn't even halfway through checking the code before."

"Yeah, I know. I finished your check and then checked it again. We're solid."

"You finished debugging ten thousand lines of code and then re-checked the entire program again in the time it took me to get an ice cream sandwich?"

"Yeah."

Baljeet blinked in disbelief as he simply turned and fell in behind Phineas. "You know, by now I shouldn't be surprised at anything you do, but that still blows my mind."

"What can I say? I'm motivated. Now let's bounce!"

Baljeet jogged to catch up to Phineas as they headed downstairs and departed from the house. Phineas was clearly in an even more energetic mood than usual, and Baljeet suspected it was tied to his unexplained disappearance. Only time would tell if his hunch was right.

* * *

"You make it awfully hard to stay angry with you," Ferb commented to Phineas as he looked over the full splendor of their party. It was now mid-afternoon of the Fourth of July and the party had now been in full swing for some time. "I had planned on berating you for at least an hour for your little disappearing act the other day."

"Yeah, well I'm paying for it in more ways than one now," Phineas said in a strained voice as he attempted to sit up in his deck chair again. The muscles in his back, arms, and legs immediately protested and he eased himself back to reclining, wincing all the while.

"You just relax," Isabella told him as she cringed a bit seeing her boyfriend in such pain. "You helped everyone finish all the preparations yesterday and even helped Buford set things up today. You've earned some R&R, Phineas."

"No good deed goes unpunished," Phineas replied while putting a pair of sunglasses on. "I just hope I'll be okay in a little while to walk around or at least dance a bit with you, Izzie."

Isabella smiled and kissed his forehead. "We'll see, but don't force yourself for my sake, okay?"

"Since the party is well underway now, do you want to tell us what's going on now," Ferb asked, sitting next to his brother. "If it's really a secret, you know we can keep it Phineas."

"I know I could trust you guys, believe me I do," Phineas said, looking over at both of them. "But it's like I said, I promised someone I wouldn't say anything to anyone. That included the both of you. Trust me, though; you'll understand soon enough. And it'll be worth the wait."

Ferb sighed and sat back in the chair. "Have it your way, then. I won't ask about it again. But whenever this happens, whatever it is, it really had better be worth everything you put yourself and the rest of us through."

Phineas picked his head up enough to look over at Ferb, a wide grin on his face. "Have I ever let you guys down?"

"He's got you there, Ferb," Isabella added. "Well, I'm gonna mingle for a while. Most of the girls are here. Can I bring you anything, Phineas?"

"A cheeseburger and an iced tea would be awesome," Phineas told her. "No rush, though."

Isabella gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then took her leave of the boys to hunt down her friends. Across the way she spotted Django just stepping past Buford at the security checkpoint. She bit her lower lip and continued on her way, hoping he would have a good enough time at the party to get his mind off of things.

For his part, Django was at least feeling well-rested as he began to make his rounds at the party. He greeted the brothers, talked to all his old friends from the neighborhood, enjoyed some of the music that Holly was queuing up, and ate his fill of the food being provided. None of it, however, was able to get him out of the sense of dread he had for what was coming. Adyson was nothing if not a person of her word, and one way or another Django would soon get an answer to his question from days ago. As time dragged on, and the sun slowly made its way across the sky, he began to worry when Adyson had not been seen by him or anyone else yet.

'Maybe this is my answer,' he thought despondently. 'Maybe her no-showing is how she's telling me she doesn't want me.'

"Everything okay, dude," Phineas asked as he slowly approached his friend near the backyard's tree.

"Not really, but don't worry about me," Django told him. "You doing okay now?"

"I'm still pretty stiff, but I'm at least not as sore as I was earlier. What's got you down, though?"

"It's just…no one's seen Adyson yet, and I'm wondering if she's even going to show up at this point. She said she'd tell me her answer here at the party."

Phineas nodded to his friend and patted him on the shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. She's bound to show herself sooner or later."

"I wish I had your confidence, man. Or your luck in romance, for that matter."

Phineas had to laugh heartily, causing Django no small amount of confusion. "Dude, trust me, you don't need luck."

Phineas wandered off before Django could ask him what he meant. He was so distracted by the odd comment that he didn't notice the brief, brilliant flash of light just to his right.

"He may be a great friend, but sometimes he can be so random," He said to himself, shaking his head as he did.

"Truer words were never spoken," Adyson added as she watched Phineas walk off as well.

"I know, right," he said as he looked at her briefly before looking back at Phineas. "I mean remember when he- whoa!"

Django stumbled backwards as he suddenly realized that Adyson was standing right next to him. Fortunately, he backed into the tree and was saved from falling over. Adyson turned to face him, her arms behind her back. She had on a deep blue sleeveless blouse, a long white ruffled skirt and white sandals, and a red hairband set atop her head.

"What the…how the…when…but…" Django stammered as he tried to make sense of how she had appeared out of nowhere.

"I'll explain a little later," Adyson told him. She took a deep breath and looked right into his eyes. "It's time to settle things between us, Django. Once and for all."

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** The conclusion of the Independence Day Extravaganza! What will be Adyson's answer to Django? Heaven, or Hell? Either way, let's rock!


	13. IDE Part Three: The Payoff

**Independence Day Extravaganza: The Payoff**

_Someday you will find me_

_Caught beneath the landslide_

_In a Champagne Supernova in the sky._

* * *

_Flashback: Saturday Night_

"It looks like we're a little ahead of schedule so far," Ginger said after compiling all her information. "The guest list is coming together pretty well too, but…"

"But what," Phineas asked.

"I tried contacting Adyson several times today by phone, text, and email. She hasn't responded at all."

"Did she go out of town, perhaps," Ferb asked, looking at Katie.

As Katie responded to Ferb's question, Phineas felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out quickly and opened it, seeing a text message that read, "In front yard. Come alone, don't tell anyone. - Addie"

As the rest of the group's focus shifted to listen to Django, who'd just arrived in the backyard, Phineas quietly slipped away from the group and headed to the front yard. Sure enough, Adyson was there waiting for him.

"Thanks for coming, Phin," Adyson told him, her voice somewhat hoarse. Her hair was somewhat messy and her eyes were red and looked exhausted.

"Addie, you look terrible," Phineas told her, suddenly concerned for her. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"It's a long and complicated story, and I don't have time to go into it all right now. Just please listen. I need your help with something."

"If it's to do with Django, why not just go talk to him now? He's in the backyard."

"I know, but…I can't. I'm not ready yet. Plus I promised him I'd talk to him at the party your family throws every year, and I want to stick to that."

"If that's what you want to do then I'll respect that. But why do you need my help then?"

"I want to surprise him at the party."

"Surprise him how?"

"I don't want him seeing me until I'm ready to talk to him."

"That shouldn't be hard, just avoid him."

Adyson shook her head at him. "One of the girls is bound to see me, and they'll just force me to do it before I'm really ready. Please, Phineas, isn't there something you can do to help me out here?"

Phineas held his chin as he thought about the dilemma. "Hmm…so what we need is a way for you to get into the party unseen and remain that way until you're ready to talk to Django…I think I may actually have just the thing."

Adyson blinked several times in disbelief. "For serious?"

Phineas nodded to her. "It's something Ferb and I have been working on here and there. It's not totally done yet, but I could probably finish it on my own. Can I meet you somewhere tomorrow with it?"

"There's a coffee shop I like going to not far away. Meet me there tomorrow at nine 'o clock, okay?"

"Got it."

"And Phineas, one more thing."

"What's that?"

"Please don't tell anyone about this. I really want to keep this a secret because…well…"

Phineas put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Addie, we've been friends since we were little kids. Trust me, I'll keep this secret."

Adyson smiled and briefly hugged him. "Thank you, Phin. I owe you one big time."

Adyson quickly took her leave of Phineas as he headed back into the house, careful to avoid the garage where Ferb and Django were having some sort of talk amongst themselves. He quickly headed to the basement and set to work completing the project he'd mentioned to Adyson. Assuming it functioned properly it would be the perfect answer to Adyson's problem.

* * *

_Flashback: Sunday Morning_

"A personal light refracting matrix," Adyson said, repeating the name of the item she held in her hand, which was no bigger than a fifty cent piece. "So what's it do?"

Phineas grinned as he prepared his explanation. "By calculating all incoming light vectors and rerouting them, it can-"

"In English, Phin," Adyson told him, sounding annoyed. "I don't speak Nerd."

"Heh, right. Sorry. It'll render you completely invisible."

Adyson looked at the coin-shaped device skeptically. "You're kidding."

"Nope. We made two of them, and I used the other one it to get out of the house this morning. I walked right by Candace in the kitchen and she never even acted like she saw me. Just run your thumb over it once to activate it, then do it again to deactivate it."

"What if I lose it? It's awfully small."

"It's got a very limited range, so if you dropped it somewhere you'd just end up going visible again."

Adyson shook her head at the simple yet amazing device. "You really are a genius, Phin. Thanks again."

"Like I said, Addie, you and I go way back. I'm happy I could help. I'm just sorry I couldn't be there to help you figure out your feelings about this."

"In retrospect, I kinda wish I had gotten some help. I'm so utterly horrible about this kind of thing."

"That makes two of us. And for what it's worth, I'm still pretty terrible at it. I only just recently realized the full extent of my feelings for Isabella after dating her for almost a year."

"You know you never told me how you two finally got together," Adyson said, taking a sip from her coffee. "I mean, we all figured it'd happen sooner or later, but it just seemed to happen so…suddenly."

"Given your distaste for nerd talk, I really should spare you the full version of how it all actually came about," Phineas told her as he thought about the Age Swapper incident once again. "The short version is to say that it actually took a lot longer than you think."

"That's all well and good, but what I want to know more is how did you reconcile your feelings for Isabella? I mean, I've been utterly confused about my feelings for Django."

"Well…I had always liked Isabella to some extent. For me I just stopped and thought for a moment if I could ever see another girl in my life. I couldn't back then, and I certainly can't now."

Adyson fell silent for several moments. A look crossed her face as if she were thinking something over once again. Finally she looked at Phineas again, a confident smile on her face.

"You know, before we met here I was still questioning my choice," she said. "But thanks to you, Phin…I know what my answer to Django is going to be."

Phineas leaned across the table a bit more. "And what's that answer?"

Adyson fell silent again, but Phineas scooted his chair around to the side of the table so he sat just diagonal from her.

"C'mon, Addie, I'm already keeping secrets for you. And I stayed up late getting that thing ready for you. The least you can do is give me the inside scoop."

Adyson looked at him, a cautious look in her eyes. "You swear you won't tell anyone?"

"Not even Ferb."

Adyson closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at Phineas and told him exactly what her answer to Django was going to be.

* * *

_Monday, July 4__th__, Evening_

"It's time to settle things between us, Django," Adyson told him as she faced him. "Once and for all."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself," Django noted as he stood up straight again from the tree. "I'm glad that whatever you've decided is sitting right with you, Addie."

Adyson nodded to him. "It wasn't an easy decision to come to, but it's like I said. I'm terrible with my feelings."

"Whatever it ends up being, I just want you to know it won't make me stop being your friend. You've always meant a lot to me, Adyson, even when we were little. You defended me when I'd get picked on, you supported me in everything I did, and we had a lot of fun together; especially with Phineas and Ferb, and eventually everyone else as well.

"But I just want you to know that it still won't change how I've come to feel about you either. I really do care very deeply for you, more than words can really convey. I've got art projects I've sketched out that I want to make that are all based on these feelings. I wish I could show them to you, but…well without knowing how you feel it'd probably just creep you out. But it's some of the best stuff I've ever thought of, and it's all thanks to you.

"And who knows? Maybe down the road, given some time, something might happen later. Which would be fine too. I mean we are both really young and all. You've got your own set of goals and dreams you want to work towards, and I totally respect and admire that. And just like you supported me back in the day, I'll do the same for you. Even if-"

"Django," Adyson said, breaking up his monologue. Django shook his head and suddenly realized she was now standing right next to him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was rambling, wasn't I? I get like this when I'm nervous."

"It's like I've told you before," she said, lacing her arms gently around his shoulders and neck. "You really need to learn when to shut up."

Everything around Django simply faded into nothingness. Time stood still, music and noise fell silent, and the scenery of the backyard and all the people around them disappeared. All that existed right then and there, as far as he was concerned, were him and the girl of his dreams who was kissing him lovingly on the lips. He slowly slid his arms around her as well and allowed himself to enjoy the feel of her kiss as well as the light scent of jasmine coming from her. It was absolutely intoxicating and elevated him to such a state of bliss that when Adyson finally broke off the kiss he had the silliest grin on his face; so silly that she couldn't help but break up laughing at him.

"If that's going to be your reaction every time I kiss you, I need to make sure I have a camera handy all the time," she said after recomposing herself from her laughter. "The look on your face is priceless."

"Can you blame me," Django asked as he finally snapped back into reality. "I was dead certain you were going to shoot me down!"

"I know. And I'm sorry about…well, everything. I spent the rest of that day after our date and most of Saturday debating and crying and torturing myself over what to do. I was a real mess, to the point that I just didn't return any calls or texts. But then I came to a point where I stopped myself and just asked myself what you asked me that day: What are you to me?

"The answer that came back was that you're someone I love, Django. I couldn't get away from that answer, just like I couldn't seem to get away from you this past week. And I don't want to get away from you anymore. I want to be with you, more than anything I've ever wanted."

"But what about…I mean, I still have to go back to California after Candace's wedding."

"I know, and I know I said before that that was weighing on my mind."

Adyson stepped back up to him and touched his face gently, smiling as a couple of tears streamed down her face. "But I would rather be happy with you for whatever amount of time we have left together this summer than live the rest of my life regretting what might have been."

Django took her into his arms again, both of them burying their face in each other's neck as they embraced.

"Thank you, Adyson," he told her quietly. "You don't know how happy this makes me."

"The feeling is very much mutual, Django," she replied similarly.

As they continued their embrace, just a few feet away Isabella stood dabbing at her eyes with a tissue she had taken from a box of tissues held by Phineas. After making sure she was set, Phineas walked among the other former Fireside Girls that had assembled to be spectators the event, offering the same to each of them.

"Told you it'd be worth the wait," he said as he fell in alongside Isabella again.

Isabella sniffled a bit, having been incredibly touched by the scene that had just played out before them. "Yes. Yes it was."

It was Isabella's sniffle that finally caught Adyson's attention, causing her to finally notice the crowd that had gathered around them.

"Guess the cat's out of the bag now," she said sheepishly.

"Just get over here, already," Katie told her as she blew her nose.

Adyson started to walk to the girls, only to be swarmed by them in one massive group hug. As the girls all began talking amongst themselves about Adyson's new romance, Django walked around them and joined Phineas and Ferb, who both shook his hand.

"Nice work, man," Phineas told him. "That's a hookup for the history books."

"Absolutely," Ferb added. "Which reminds me, I need to go and collect my winnings."

"Winnings," Django asked, wondering what Ferb meant.

"Why yes, on the bet we made."

Django looked at the brothers in a bit of shock. "You guys bet on whether we'd get together?"

"Don't be silly," Phineas told him as Ferb began going around collecting on the bet. "That wouldn't have been much of a bet. Instead we bet on how long it'd take you. Ferb said you'd hook up by the Fourth, and here we are."

"Dude, seriously," Django asked, sounding disappointed. "I'm not sure how much I like the idea of my romantic life being the subject of a bet."

"Well then," Ferb said, returning with a wad of money to which Phineas made the final contribution. "How do you feel about this?"

Ferb took Django's hand and put the wad of money in it, then closed it up around it.

"You take that money and go have a proper date with Adyson," Ferb told him.

Django looked at the money in total surprise. "Are you serious? This isn't just chump change, man!"

Ferb nodded to him. "I can't speak for anyone else, but this was my intent with the bet all along. Besides, it is technically my money to do with as I see fit, as I won it fair and square. And I can't think of anything I'd rather spend it on."

Django pocketed the money and then grabbed both brothers in a fierce hug. "You guys really are the best, you know?"

"You're welcome, Django," Phineas told him. "Now go rescue your girlfriend from her friends before they smother her. Or before she starts yelling at them, at least."

Django let them go and went back to the group of girls, who all took turns hugging and congratulating him as he tried to make his way back to Adyson. Once they were together again, they resumed enjoying the party, only this time they did it together and happier than either could ever remember being before.

* * *

The night sky came alive with bursts of color, glittering sparks, screaming rockets, and intricate patterns drawn by the laser lights Phineas, Ferb, and Baljeet had worked so hard to prepare. For their part, Jeremy and Coltrane were having quite the fun time setting off the fireworks. Phineas, however, found himself simply enjoying watching the fruits of their labors while hugging Isabella from behind.

"You guys threw a fantastic party," Isabella told him. "I'm sure your mom's gonna be proud of what you accomplished."

"It's not over yet," Phineas said with a sigh. "I've got cleanup still ahead of me."

"I can help if you'd like."

"Nah, Ferb and I promised mom we'd do it ourselves. It'll be alright."

"If you say so, but tomorrow you should come by my house for some rest and relaxation."

Phineas smirked as he turned her face towards him. "Somehow I think that might not end up being all that restful or relaxing."

"Maybe," Isabella said, playfully touching his cheek. "But it would probably still be pleasant."

"More than probably is my guess."

In another part of the backyard, Gretchen was leaned back against Ferb, who was leaning back against the fence while they watched the show.

"You guys sure know how to throw a party," Gretchen told him.

"You think this is something," Ferb asked her. "Wait until we're all a bit older. We have some amazing party ideas in mind."

"I'll look forward to seeing them. But man, those are some great fireworks."

"They are quite spectacular."

Gretchen turned around and pressed herself up against Ferb, smiling seductively up at him. "Not as good as the kinds of fireworks you and I make, though."

"Sadly I still have cleanup to tend to," Ferb told her, stroking her hair gently. "Maybe later, if there's time and I'm not exhausted."

Gretchen quickly pulled him down a bit and playfully nibbled his ear as she whispered, "Well, consider it incentive to finish quickly then."

Ferb had to fight off the shivers that went down his spine from the love bite and resolved, in his mind, to attack the cleanup like never before.

Across the backyard, other friends and couples also shared thoughts with each other as they watched the spectacular show above them. None, however, were more lost in the moment than Django and Adyson, who simply held hands as they sat and watched the show.

"My head's so full of art project ideas now, I think it might just burst," Django said as he watched the sky in awe.

"It is a pretty amazing show," Adyson added as she tried to follow every burst and laser-drawn shape that danced across the sky. She felt Django turn her face towards him and saw him smiling at her.

"None of my ideas have anything to do with the fireworks," he told her. "It's all because of you."

"O-oh…" she stammered, blushing heavily. "Well, that's good too. Just…don't ask me to model for you or anything."

"Why on earth wouldn't I want you to model for me?"

"I just…I don't know. I'm not used to this relationship business is all. All the attention or the sweetness…any of it. I have no confidence at all in how I look, I don't know how I'm supposed to act as your girlfriend or…"

Django cut her off with a kiss, which she immediately responded to. The feeling of being kissed was one part of their relationship she was quickly becoming accustomed to, and one she enjoyed immensely.

"You just be you," he told her after he broke off the kiss. "And I'll just be me. And together we'll be us. That's all there is to it."

Adyson smiled and squeezed his hand a bit. "If you're okay with that, then I am too."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Still, do you think you could be you and maybe, I dunno, wear a shirt with buttons once in a while?"

"That depends. Do you think you could be you and maybe, I dunno, come to a poetry jam at a coffee house once in a while?"

They both shared a laugh and then leaned against each other as the show carried on over their heads. Their remaining time together may be short, but they were determined to make the most of it and fill the rest of their summer with memories they would both treasure for the rest of time.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview**: A rainy summer day turns twenty percent cooler thanks to a kids' show that ensnares the attention of kids, teens, and even adults. How will the gang react to one of the strangest activities they've ever undertaken: marathoning the episodes of a cartoon?


	14. Pwned by Ponies

**Pwned by Ponies**

Milly was on cloud nine as she looked across her vast living room. Not only were the kids she'd been charged with watching that day enjoying themselves, but so were the current members of Fireside Girls Troop 46231, who were actively playing with the kids and reading them stories. She felt like bouncing around her house in glee at the all-too-sweet scene.

"Thank you again for letting us come help today, Milly," Melissa said as she briefly broke away from the group. "We've been hoping for a chance to earn our 'Babysitting' patches."

"Think nothing of it," Milly told her. She turned her attention to the massive downpour that was still ongoing outside. "You couldn't have picked a better day to come by either. I don't know when that rain is going to let up."

"Miss Milly," one of the little girls called out as she rushed up to her. "Can we watch please?"

"Are you guys bored of playing already," Milly asked, to which the little girl nodded her head vigorously. Milly giggled a bit. "Oh, alright. It is a rainy day after all, so it's not like you guys can play outside."

"Watch what," Suzy asked as Milly picked up a remote for the entertainment center.

"There's a remake of an old cartoon from the nineteen eighties that the kids have taken quite a liking to," Milly told her. "I've been recording it on our DVR for some time now, and I happen to have the whole series. It comes in handy for rainy days or during naptime for the kids who have trouble sleeping."

As the menu screen for the DVR came up, Suzy and Melissa looked at it curiously.

"Milly, you wouldn't happen to be a fan of this show yourself, would you," Melissa asked.

"Well I must admit I have watched it a couple of times," Milly said cheerily. "You know, incidentally while the kids are watching. And also just to make sure the content was appropriate for them."

"A couple dozen times is more like it," Suzy repeated as she eyed the "number of times viewed" column next to the episode names. Most of the numbers were between fifty and seventy, indicating far more than just a couple of viewings. Milly laughed nervously at their discovery and quickly gathered the kids together to watch. The Fireside Girls looked to Melissa, who shrugged and motioned to them to also take a seat as the first episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic got underway.

Not ten minutes into the episode, Milly's doorbell rang. She quickly got up and, while still watching the screen, carefully made her way to the door to answer it. Isabella and Gretchen were on the other side and quickly ducked in to get out of the rain.

"Hey Milly," Isabella said in greeting. "Sorry for dropping by unannounced, but we were wondering whatcha…uh, Milly? What's with the crowd?"

"Oh, we're just watching something for the kids right now," Milly told her. "Make yourselves at home, girls."

"We won't be here long," Gretchen said as they walked back towards the TV. "We just wanted to dry off a bit and see if…oh my gosh, you're watching it now?"

"Yeah, the kids were getting bored," Milly told her.

"How far in are you?"

"We're only halfway through the first ep."

"Oh good, I haven't missed much then."

"Uh…Gretchen," Isabella asked. "Am I missing something here?"

"Izzie, you've got to watch this show," Gretchen told her as she eagerly took a seat alongside Milly. "It's so cute and cool!"

"Okay," Isabella said skeptically. "You do know you're getting all giddy over a kids' show, right?"

"Just give it a chance."

Isabella sighed and pulled a chair in from the kitchen to watch. Roughly twelve minutes later the first episode concluded with a cliffhanger ending. Milly fumbled the remote to the floor as the kids clamored for its continuation.

"Hang on, kids," she told them calmly as she finally grabbed the remote again. "I'll have it going soon."

Gretchen turned to Isabella with a grin on her face while Milly started up the next episode. "You have to admit it is at least cute, right Izzie?"

"Shh," Isabella said as she watched the screen intently. "I don't want to miss anything!"

Gretchen had to force herself not to erupt in laughter at Isabella's sudden attachment to the show. Just as she was settling back in to start watching the next episode, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed it and saw a text message from Ferb.

"Where are you guys," the text message asked. Gretchen bit her lower lip. Phineas and Ferb had been expecting them to have been back from the mall by now. She quickly composed a reply.

"At Milly's house, come on over if you want," her reply read. She sent it, pocketed her phone, and resumed watching the episode.

Almost half an hour later, Milly's doorbell rang once again.

"The door's open," Milly called out, being unable to tear herself away from the show.

Phineas and Ferb let themselves into the house and looked curiously at the mixture of little kids, Fireside Girls, and teenage girls gathered around the TV. They looked at each other worriedly and then approached the group to see what had them all so enthralled.

"Oh good grief, not **this** again," Ferb commented upon recognizing the show. He looked disappointedly at Gretchen, who was watching the show intently. "You could've told me this is what you were up to in your text message."

"You asked me where we were, not what we were doing," Gretchen told him indignantly. "Now hush. Twilight Sparkle is trying to figure out who to give her extra ticket to the gala to."

"Sounds like a dire situation to be sure," Ferb said. "Come on, Phineas. Let's…"

Ferb only then noticed that Phineas had pulled another chair from the kitchen up alongside Isabella and was taking a seat next to her. He looked at his red-haired brother incredulously.

"You're kidding, right," he asked. "**This** is what you want us to do today?

Phineas shrugged and grinned at him. "Hey, we can't exactly do a whole lot in the rain dude. Not to mention our girlfriends are here too, so that even further limits our possibilities. Besides, I've heard this show is kinda funny anyway. Can't hurt to give it a shot, right?"

Ferb's hand made a rather audible smacking sound as he applied it to his forehead. "Fine. Make room on the sofa please, Gretchen."

Milly quickly slid to the floor so Ferb could sit next to Gretchen. Gretchen quickly cuddled up with her boyfriend as his reward for humoring her. Ferb braced himself to be assailed with girliness. After an hour's worth of watching, though, his cynicism towards the show had all but evaporated.

"You know there really is some smart humor in here," Ferb noted as the sixth episode continued on the screen.

"I think the characters are pretty neat, honestly," Isabella said. "I mean they really gave them personalities. Not to mention they're all adorable."

"Got a favorite yet," Gretchen asked her.

"I have to go with Twilight. She's the most sensible of the group, and the smartest. What about you?"

"Hands down Fluttershy. I love her hair, and later on in the series she turns out to be pretty awesome."

"I'm all about Applejack," Milly added. "I love how down-to-earth she is."

"How about you boys," Isabella asked, looking from Ferb to Phineas.

"Sorry, I'm just enjoying the humorous bits," Ferb told her. "I can't say as any of the main characters has left much of an impression on me."

"You like Celestia," Gretchen said, which quickly made Ferb's face turn bright red. Gretchen sighed a bit. "Royalty always catches your eye."

"Oh come on, just because I like the one character with a regal air about her doesn't mean I have some predilection for sovereign characters or people!"

Gretchen smiled and patted Ferb's cheek lightly. "I was just poking fun, honey. Oh, and that was a total guess on my part by the way."

Ferb grumbled and sunk into the sofa some more as Gretchen kissed his cheek. Isabella giggled and looked over at Phineas.

"How about you, Phineas," she asked. "Any of the ponies catch your eye?"

"I gotta go with Pinkie Pie," Phineas told her with a grin. "Everyone loves a party animal, after all."

"Plus she's insane," Ferb added. "You know, birds of a feather and all that."

"At least I'm being forthcoming about who I like Mr. 'I-Can't-Actually-Admit-I-Like-Ponies.'"

"So…anyone getting hungry for lunch," Milly asked, wanting to both tend to her kids and change the topic. All of the kids she was watching for the day raised their hands, as did the Fireside Girls. She laughed and got up from the floor. "I'll get some lunch going, then. Macaroni and cheese good by everyone?"

"You sure you've got enough for everyone," Phineas asked.

Milly just smiled sweetly at him. "Phineas, I'm dating Buford."

"Ah, right. Nevermind."

As if on cue, Buford practically burst through the front door quickly followed by Baljeet and Ginger. Ginger quickly closed the door as the boys tried to shake some of the rainwater off of themselves.

"It's rainin' cats, dogs, ferrets, moose, and probably a platypus or two out there," Buford proclaimed. "What's for lunch Mi- hey, what's with the party?"

"Oh, we're just watching ponies with the kids," Milly told him as she headed for the kitchen. "I'm about to put on some mac and cheese, sweetie. Go ahead and have a seat."

Buford grunted, seeming disappointed at the scene. "Ponies, huh. Well I guess if that's what's on we'll just have to suck it up and deal."

"Buford, isn't your current computer desktop background of a blue Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and tail," Baljeet asked him.

Dead silence hung over the entire room as everyone looked at Buford in utter disbelief. Buford slowly turned to Baljeet, who suddenly realized he'd said something he truly shouldn't have.

"I should start running, shouldn't I," Baljeet asked nervously as he swallowed audibly.

"Buford, don't forget there are kids here," Milly called out in a singsong voice from the kitchen.

Buford put a burly arm around Baljeet's shoulders and grinned at him. "C'mon, 'Jeet. Clearly you just need to be introduced to the show properly."

"I gotta be honest," Gretchen said as she watched Buford and Baljeet sit on the floor in front of her and Ferb, "I would never have pegged you for a fan of Rainbow Dash, Buford. Nevermind you being a brony."

Phineas and Ferb both snorted as they tried to stifle their laughter.

"Brony," Phineas asked, his voice filled with amusement. "Do I dare ask?"

"I dunno, do you?" Buford's voice positively dripped with menace as he glared at Phineas.

"Uh, yeah I'll pass this time," Phineas said nervously as he took shelter in Isabella's arms.

Buford grinned and then turned to Gretchen. "As for your question, why wouldn't I like the one who's twenty percent cooler than all the rest of 'em?"

"She won you over with the sonic rainboom, didn't she," Gretchen asked, an amused smile on her face.

"Sonic rainboom," Ferb repeated questioningly. "Are you serious?"

Gretchen patted Ferb's head and then settled back into continue watching. "You'll see. We haven't gotten that far yet."

"That's assuming we get that far at all. I can't imagine we won't find anything better to do. I find it hard to believe that we'd spend the next six hours watching this show no matter how entertaining it may actually be."

_Episode Seven_

"It's always the quiet ones, isn't it," Ginger said after witnessing Fluttershy ranting at a fully grown red dragon.

"And now you know why I like her," Gretchen said proudly. "You do **not** mess with Fluttershy."

_Episode Eight_

Everyone in the room who hadn't seen the episode before was roaring with laughter as Fluttershy had spoken with a very deep, very masculine-sounding voice after having been "cursed".

"Flutterguy…" Phineas said, gasping for air between laughed. "Oh jeez…"

"Just wait until she sings later," Buford said, smirking at him.

"Oh you've got to be kidding," Ferb said, also trying to stop laughing.

_Episode Eleven_

"Oh great, now I'm going to have **this** song stuck in my head forever," Baljeet complained after the Winter Wrap Up musical sequence.

"It never goes away," Milly told him. "Trust me."

_Episode Sixteen_

"Okay now hold on," Baljeet said. "How many G's was she pulling to do that sonic rainboom for crying out loud?"

"Over sixteen hundred," Buford told him.

Baljeet slowly looked at Buford, incredulity on his face. "How do you even know that?"

"Some physics guy who's a fan of the show did the math on it and posted about it online."

"…I don't know whether to be horrified or truly curious to see his work."

"Ditto," both Phineas and Ferb said in unison.

_A grand total of six total hours later…_

"Next," Ferb said, eagerly awaiting the next episode.

"Sorry, Ferb, that's all there is," Milly told him.

"What? Are you serious?"

"Totally. Season one had twenty-six episodes and that was the last one."

Ferb sighed and sunk into the couch as Gretchen did her best to keep her total amusement at her boyfriend's change of heart about the show to herself.

"Well that turned out to be a pretty good way to burn a rainy day after all," Phineas said, standing and stretching after the marathon. "Especially since the rain stopped about five hours ago."

"That had to be one of the coolest and cutest things I've ever watched," Isabella said. "Kids today really do have it better than we did if they've got stuff like this to watch."

"Speaking of kids, where are the ones you were watching, Milly," Ginger asked.

"Yes, I thought you were babysitting when we arrived earlier," Baljeet added.

"Oh, their parents all picked them up some time ago," Milly told them. "I think you guys were a little too wrapped up in the show to notice. The Fireside Girls also left about the same time."

"Which means we marathon-watched the second half of this show entirely on our own," Ferb said, suddenly realizing the truth.

"Welcome to the herd, dude," Buford said, grinning from ear-to-ear with self-satisfaction. He stood up and took Milly into his arms for a hug. "I think I'll head home now, toots."

Milly gave him a quick kiss and hugged him tightly. "Alrighty. Remember, you can come over any time to watch with me."

"Don't I know it. Later, bronies."

With that, Buford left the house laughing raucously all the way.

"I suppose we should all be going as well," Ferb said, standing from the sofa once Buford was well on his way. "Sorry to have imposed on you like this, Milly."

"Oh you guys were no imposition at all," Milly told him.

"Mind walking me home, Ferb," Gretchen asked. "It is pretty late."

"I was planning on doing just that," he replied, offering her his arm. She quickly took his arm, waved to her friends, and departed Milly's house with him.

"We should all get going as well," Phineas said. His pronouncement met with agreement from all the rest of Milly's guests. "Thanks again for having us over, Milly."

"My house is your house, guys," she told them happily. "I mean that. You guys are always welcome to come and hang here."

After a round of farewells, the group of friends all went their separate ways. Some time later, Gretchen looked up at Ferb as they continued walking to her house. Ferb recognized the look of curiosity on her face.

"So, what'd you really think," she asked. "Did you really enjoy it, or were you just placating me?"

"I think I need to stop being so judgmental about kids' television shows," he told her. "I can't help but admit that I did enjoy a good deal of that show."

Gretchen smiled, happy that her boyfriend had indeed enjoyed himself. "Too bad you missed the beginning. There's a really good story in the first two episodes."

"Yes, well I somehow doubt we'll be making a habit of invading Milly's home just to watch the show."

"You know I have it available at my house too."

Ferb looked at her with a wry smile. "You do?"

"Mm-hmm, and I'm pretty sure my folks are still out on their date tonight at this hour," she said as she hugged Ferb's arm closely to her chest. "We could certainly check out those first couple episodes you missed."

Ferb raised an eyebrow at her. "I suspect that's not all we'll be checking out."

"Ponies are fun, but they've got nothing on you, baby," Gretchen said, a seductive smile on her face.

The couple picked up their pace a bit, eager to get back to Gretchen's home to watch the part of the show Ferb had missed earlier. And, of course, to have some much desired alone time.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** The annual Danville Japanese midsummer festival has arrived and Ginger is preparing for an evening to remember with her friends, but especially with Baljeet. But are the two of them really ready for the step she has in mind, or has Ginger taken this planning business of hers too far?


	15. Kanchigai

**Kanchigai**

Ginger's smile practically stretched from ear to ear as she looked over the meticulously designed plan in her organizer. She expertly used her chopsticks to eat some more rice from her bowl at the breakfast table while keeping her eyes glued to her schedule for the day. The day of the Japanese midsummer festival had finally arrived, and after much campaigning and suggestion she'd managed to get several of her friends to come with her. Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Gretchen, Django, and Adyson had all promised to come. As her way of thanking them, she had promised to set up all the girls with _yukata_, which were the traditional summer version of _kimono_ worn to such festivals in Japan. The girls would be over in a few hours to begin going through _yukata_ to wear, but that wasn't what Ginger was most looking forward to.

She flipped the organizer to an entirely different section; one that had a listing of every date she and her boyfriend, Baljeet, had been on. There was a circle around their scheduled date for that day and stars drawn on either side of it as well. Her heart beat a little faster in her chest as she thought about what she had in store for the evening, but she had no reason to believe it wouldn't work out exactly as she planned.

"_You're going about this all wrong_," Stacy told her in Japanese as she leaned against the doorway to the kitchen where she was eating.

"_I don't even know what you're referring to and I still find that statement hilarious coming from you_," Ginger replied without even deeming to look at her sister. She, too, kept their conversation in Japanese.

"_You know exactly what I'm talking about. And you're making a critical mistake here_."

"_The only mistake I've made is accidentally leaving my organizer out for you to look through. That's one mistake I am not going to repeat_."

Stacy stormed over and sat across from her sister, glaring at her. "C_ut it out okay? You haven't even thought if this is what Baljeet wants in your relationship right now_."

"_Oh please, he's a teenage boy_," Ginger said, dismissing her sister's concern. "_And I know he finds me incredibly attractive. There's no way he won't want to get a little more physical with me. Besides, it's the right time in our relationship for it._"

Stacy sighed in disgust. "_There you go again, sticking to that ridiculous schedule of yours. You can't plan out love. Believe me, I know_."

Ginger narrowed her eyes at her sister. "_Yeah, we all know quite extensively about how well you've handled your love life_."

"_Oh for crying out loud_," Stacy cried, throwing her hands into the air. "_Heaven forbid I try to have some private time with my boyfriend, of all people, in my own damn room!_"

"_In the house you grew up in no less! You know the rules, sis, and mom had every right to flip out on you like she did when she caught you guys_."

"_Hello? Right to privacy? I'm well over legal age for pretty much everything, you know. I can take care of myself. Besides, I really don't want to hear this from a girl whose concept of romance could be charted and graphed!_"

"_At least I'm trying to keep control of my love life and not just give myself in to every whim and desire that passes through my head! Do you even understand what restraint is?_"

Ginger stood up as she'd ranted at her sister. Stacy did likewise for her rebuttal.

"_Do you even understand what passion is? Your so-called 'love life' is about as dynamic and interesting as watching paint dry! You're being a total control freak, Ginger! How does Baljeet feel about having no say in your relationship, huh?_"

"_I'm not going to let myself end up like mom!_"

Ginger practically screamed her last proclamation as she stood up, utter fury written on her face as she scowled at her sister. In that instant, Stacy suddenly realized what was really fueling Ginger's organization madness.

"_This is about dad, isn't it_," Stacy asked, slowly sitting back down. "_And how he-_"

"_Just shut up, sis,_" Ginger said brusquely as she quickly set to bussing her dishes from the table. "_How I manage and advance my love life is my business, just like how you fail to do so for yours is your business. Right?_"

"_There are some things in life you just can't control. Mom would be the first to tell you that. Hell, I'd argue there are some things you shouldn't even try to control. It's only going to make you miserable when things don't go like how you think they're supposed to._"

"_My plans have all worked perfectly so far. I have no reason to believe they won't continue to do so. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to start picking out which yukata I think my friends will like._"

"_Do you want my help_," Stacy asked, turning to watch her sister leave.

Ginger stopped in the doorway and looked coldly at Stacy just before she left. "_When have I ever?_"

Stacy turned back to her coffee mug after Ginger had left. She looked down into it, unable to convince herself to drink any at the moment. As soon as she heard the door to Ginger's room close, she grabbed her purse which sat nearby, pulled her cell phone out, and hit her speed dial for Coltrane.

"Hey baby, it's me," she told him, forcing herself back to speaking English. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check on our date tonight. Something's come up and…yeah, it's about Ginger. I have a really bad feeling about tonight. I'll call you later if I can come over later. I'm so sorry about this…thanks for understanding. I love you."

Flipping her phone closed, Stacy quickly headed for her own room to go through her own collection of _yukata_. Whether Ginger liked it or not, she was coming to the festival as well now. Every fiber of her being told her that what her sister was planning would only end in disaster, and she intended to be on hand to help run damage control when it became necessary. She only hoped there would be something left of her sister's relationship with Baljeet after it all went down.

* * *

"These are absolutely gorgeous, Ginger," Isabella said, positively enchanted by the many different _yukata_ that hung about Ginger's bedroom. "Are you sure it's okay for us to wear these?"

"You guys are my absolute best friends," Ginger told her emphatically. "You agreed to humor me and come to the festival. You have no idea how much this means to me. The least I can do is loan you all _yukata_ for the evening. I just wish everyone could've made it."

"Couldn't be helped," Adyson said as she also browsed the collection. "Katie and Holly are in nonstop practice mode for the recital at the end of the month, and Milly's already going to the Tri-State Area Medieval Faire with Buford."

"At least you and Django are coming," Ginger said, quickly clasping Adyson's hands in her own. "I can't tell you how thrilled I am about having you along, Addie. Have you guys even been able to have a proper date yet?"

"Well…yeah," Adyson blushed deeply as she recalled the event. "He took me to this amazing Italian restaurant where they had this pair of guys playing music for couples on an accordion and violin. It was incredibly romantic. Then he took me to a nearby art gallery, which wasn't quite as romantic but I knew it was something he wanted to see."

"I hope you got a goodnight kiss," Gretchen noted, nudging Adyson with her elbow.

"Oh yeah, and I gotta say Django is one hell of a good kisser," Adyson said, fanning herself lightly at the memory of the kiss. "I think I could kiss that boy all day long."

"That's a sentiment I'm familiar with," Gretchen said as she fantasized about Ferb for a moment. "Although we've been taking it a bit farther than that."

Isabella tossed a number of _yukata_ over Gretchen's head and pushed her onto Ginger's bed. "Try to keep your hormones in check for a while, girl. Oh, and Adyson? Welcome to the club. We've been saving a spot for you for weeks."

Adyson rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Isabella. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I took my sweet ol' time figuring it all out. But man was it worth it."

"Take some pride in knowing you two got it all figured out in the course of about a month," Gretchen told her after poking her head out from the pile of Japanese clothing. "The rest of us were in romantic limbo for years, after all."

Adyson suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious. "Oh. Right. Sorry about that, girls."

"Don't sweat it," Ginger told her. "Now let's get down to the biz here. You guys see anything you particularly like?"

"I kind of like this one," Gretchen said, touching the hem of a red yukata with an embroidered pattern that resembled goldenrod growing up from the hem at the bottom. "Red's a good color for me anyway."

"I think that'd work fantastically for you, Gretchen," Ginger told her. "I'll start adjusting it for your height and proportions here."

"Do you have any green ones that aren't quite so bright," Adyson asked, making faces at a couple of bright green ones.

Ginger hummed to herself in thought while she worked on Gretchen's _yukata_. "Check over by my dresser, there should be a forest green one with wildflowers on it over there."

As Adyson searched, Isabella gasped as she came across a _yukata_ of deep purple hue with a pattern of pink lilies on it. "Oh my goodness, Ginger, this one is just amazing!"

"Go for it," Ginger told her with a smile. "It'd look dynamite on you, Izzie!"

"I couldn't possibly! This is just too nice!"

"Doooo iiiit," Gretchen told her emphatically. "Purple has always been your color."

"What about you, Ginger," Adyson asked as she finally found the _yukata_ she'd been sent looking for. "Don't you need to pick one out?"

"Mine's all set," Ginger told her, looking to her closed closet. "And I kind of want to keep it a secret until tonight. I want to surprise everyone, especially Baljeet."

"Ohhh, got something planned," Gretchen asked, nudging Ginger and wiggling her eyebrows at her.

"Maybe," Ginger replied innocently. "That's between me and Baljeet. But I fully intend to show you all around the festival first."

"This is going to be one amazing evening, isn't it," Isabella said, sighing happily as she held the yukata up to herself.

"Yes," Ginger said, smiling as she looked quickly into her organizer once again. "Yes it is."

* * *

"C'mon, guys, I'd really rather not kiss and tell," Django said, trying to dodge the question being posed to him regarding what it was like kissing Adyson.

"Do you think for a moment I'm going to let you get away with staying silent after you made me spill my guts about making out with Gretchen," Ferb asked, bumping Django somewhat hard from the side as they walked.

"Ferb's right, dude," Phineas added, bumping him from the other side. "We all talk in the huddle, remember?"

"Strictly speaking, we can't really huddle while walking," Baljeet noted. "But the sentiment remains nonetheless. We won't say a word to anyone else, Django."

"You guys are loving this, aren't you," Django muttered resentfully.

"Just making sure the rules apply to us all," Ferb told him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Now talk."

"Kissing Adyson," Django began, "is like experiencing the sweetest, most lucid dream ever to me. For all her standoffishness and tough act, she is incredibly warm and loving underneath it all. She only shows that side to me, though, and only when we're alone together. But in those moments..."

Django stopped walking, causing his three friends to stop and look at him. Django looked to be suddenly at a loss, shaking his head and smiling only to himself.

"I'm sorry, guys," he said apologetically. "I just…I can't put it into words."

Phineas looked from Ferb to Baljeet before stepping back over to Django and putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's cool, man. We get the idea. It's great that you two are getting so close now."

"I have you guys to thank for all your support," Django replied. "I just wish we had more time available to us."

"_Carpe diem_," Ferb told him. "It's more than just a catch phrase for us, you know."

"No doubt," Django said, laughing lightly. "All the more reason why we decided to come out with you all tonight. I've heard good things about this Japanese festival."

"Ginger has been going on about it for months," Baljeet said as they resumed their walk to his girlfriend's house. "I'm eager to see what all the fuss is about as well. She mentions it at least once on every one of our dates anymore."

"Speaking of which, how's your dating life going, man," Django asked. "Any progress as of late?"

"Same as always, really," the Indian teen replied. "Which suits me just fine. There is something incredibly comforting about how regularly Ginger and I go out together."

"Well, Ginger is the master planner," Phineas noted.

"Yeah yeah, that's great and all, but where's the spark between you two," Django asked. "I mean, you guys have been going out for a long time now, right? Things have to be heating up a little between you."

"I, uh…well…see…" Baljeet nervously searched for words to explain his situation, but to no avail.

"Really, dude," Django asked, somewhat in disbelief at what he was hearing. "You are a teenager, right?"

"It's not as simple as you make it out to be, you know," Baljeet said defensively. "Prior to Ginger I had kissed exactly one girl, and it was a very brief kiss at that. I have no other experience with girls. Not to mention, I'm worried about doing something Ginger isn't ready for."

"I know that feeling rather well," Ferb added. "But it's not something you should be afraid to explore with Ginger. You two do care about each other a lot, right?"

Baljeet stroked his chin in thought as he considered the matter. "I suppose you're right, but all the same I wish I knew something more about what to do before trying anything."

"I hear you there, man," Phineas added in commiseration.

"Wait, you and Isabella are still on first base," Django asked, now really in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Phineas shrugged at him. "BJ's right, man. It's not that easy, at least for us."

"Maybe we could do some research on it sometime," Baljeet said, to which Phineas nodded in agreement. "The more you know, the better prepared you'll be after all."

Before Phineas and Baljeet could begin considering the idea any further, they were interrupted by boisterous laughter coming from Django and Ferb. Django had to hang onto Ferb's shoulder to avoid falling over due to laughing so hard.

"You guys do realize what that 'research' would entail, right," Django asked while trying to catch his breath.

"Well maybe there's a blog or online forum of some kind we could-" Phineas stopped himself as his brain finally caught up with what Django was referring to. "Oh, ugh. Seriously, dude? You had to go there?"

"It's hard not to when you make it so incredibly easy," Ferb told him, wiping a tear from his eye. "You didn't just walk into that one, you flew gleefully into it at about Mach one."

"I still don't get it," Baljeet noted with a blank stare. Phineas quickly leaned over and whispered into his ear, which quickly caused a horrified look to come across his face. "I'm pretty certain my mother would kill me if she ever caught me looking at that sort of website."

"Guys, really, just do what comes natural when the time comes," Django told them.

"Oh like you can talk," Phineas shot back. "You've been dating Adyson for what? A little over a week now?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sweating this nearly as much as either of you are. I'm just gonna be patient and enjoy my time with her. When the opportune moment arrives, though, we'll see what happens. It's nothing to get all worked up or embarrassed over. We are all teenage guys after all."

"That may be, but I'm still not sure how ready I am for that kind of thing," Baljeet said. "I still sometimes have a hard time dealing with the fact that I even **have** a girlfriend, let alone the idea of getting more physical with her."

"There's nothing wrong with that at all, Baljeet," Ferb told him. "Just remember that while it shouldn't be the basis for a relationship, it is nonetheless still an important part of one."

Baljeet sighed and decided it was time to shift focus as they approached the Hirano home. "I'll think about it. For now, let's just get ready to go to this festival. Are you guys all set?"

"I think so," Django said, looking himself over. "I'm not underdressed for this, am I?"

"Dude, you're always underdressed for everything," Phineas told him. "Since when has that stopped you, though?"

Django nodded to him. "Hm, good point. I'm cool."

"I think we're all set, Baljeet," Ferb told him with a thumbs up. Just as Baljeet reached for the doorbell, however, the door opened and the boys were greeted by Adyson who was already dressed in the _yukata_ she'd picked out earlier. It was forest green and had a pattern of wildflowers that looked to be growing up it from the bottom.

"Hey fellas," she said, stepping past the other boys on her way to Django. She smiled brilliantly at him. "Hi there, lover. Whadya think?"

"I think I'm definitely way underdressed now," Django said, swallowing hard as he looked over her. "You look fantastic, Addie."

"Aw, flattery will get you a kiss," she replied, giving him a quick one on the lips. She turned back to the doorway after. "C'mon, ladies, time's a-wastin'."

Isabella and Gretchen both stepped outside next, also in the _yukata_ they'd each picked out earlier. As Ferb and Phineas both voiced their appreciation of their respective girlfriends, Baljeet waited anxiously for Ginger's arrival. It was only when he took a moment to re-tie one of his shoes that he saw another pair of feet emerge from the house. He stopped to look up and couldn't believe his eyes.

Ginger stood nervously fidgeting, a small black drawstring purse hanging from her hands. She wore a black _yukata_ with a pattern of white orchids that came up the left side, and her long black hair was done up in a high ponytail. She smiled shyly at him as he slowly stood up.

"Wow," he said in amazement. "You look-"

"Fantastic, I know," Stacy said, interrupting Baljeet in the middle of his compliment. She appeared just behind her sister dressed in a white _yukata_ with forget-me-nots as its floral pattern. "It shocked me too. I mean I honestly went, 'My little sister can't possibly be this cute!' I guess she did inherit some of my fashion sense after all."

"What are **you** doing here," Ginger said, the aggravation readily apparent in her voice. "Isn't Coltrane picking you up soon?"

"Change of plans, I decided to come to the festival tonight," Stacy told her.

Ginger turned to face her sister, narrowing her eyes at her. "And if I say I don't want you tagging along tonight?"

"Tough stuff, girly. This is what I want to do. Besides, I haven't had a chance this summer to hang out with the boys with all the help Candace has needed with her dress and the bridesmaid dresses. So deal."

"Ginger," Baljeet said, putting a hand on her arm to regain her attention. "Let's all just go together. I'm eager to see this festival you've spoken so highly of for so long, and I'm sure the others feel the same."

Ginger took one more scathing look at Stacy, who simply put on her best stupid grin for her. She turned back around, took Baljeet's arm, and began walking. The rest of the gang fell in behind them as they led the way to the festival. Along the way, Ginger was mostly silent as she fumed over Stacy's "sudden" change in plans. It changed nothing for her, though. Tonight would be a night to remember for her and Baljeet, and there was nothing that would stand in their way.

* * *

Danville's Japanese Festival was actually just a version on the traditional Bon Festival that was held across Japan every summer. The city's sole Buddhist temple was the site for the event, and the path leading to it was lined with lights and vendor stalls of all kinds that either sold food or souvenirs, or ran games of chance or skill for small prizes. The vast majority of people who attended the event did so in normal American clothing, but any girl or woman of Japanese descent was present wearing a _yukata_ of some kind or another.

"So if this is a religious festival, why all the commerce," Django asked, looking dubiously at the stalls as they walked.

"In the first place, it's only **based** on the _bon matsuri_," Stacy told him. "It's not intended to be a perfect re-creation of it. And second, it wouldn't be much of a festival if people weren't enjoying themselves. Besides, it's all fairly inexpensive stuff. Not to mention delicious. I strongly recommend the choco-banana. It's a personal favorite of mine."

"All the same, you'd think people could do without indulging their materialism for just one day," Django complained. "Right, Addie?"

Django face-faulted as he turned and saw his girlfriend with a choco-banana in one hand, a huge mass of cotton candy in the other, and some crazy kind of mask that was sitting sideways on her head. She looked innocently at Django as she finished another bite of her banana.

"What," she asked as she began practically shoving what was left of the banana into Django's face. "This stuff's good! Try it."

Django ran his hand over his face before begrudgingly taking a small bite from the banana. "We have got to talk about curbing your impulse buying sometime."

Adyson stuck her tongue out at him. "Good luck with that. So, what'd you think? Tasty, right?"

"Yes, yes it was. You gonna share some of that cotton candy too?"

"Depends, you gonna lighten up and enjoy yourself?"

Stacy chuckled to herself and turned to check on the others in the group for a bit to give the two enough space to talk and enjoy themselves. Phineas and Isabella had stopped at a game stall. Isabella was crouched near to the ground while Phineas stood over her. As Stacy approached, she recognized the all-too-familiar, and reviled, goldfish scooping game.

"Any luck yet," she asked, peering over Phineas' shoulder.

"Well I'm out nine bucks so far," Phineas told her. Another light curse came from Isabella as she failed once again to get a fish. Phineas sighed and handed the man running the stall another dollar. "Make that ten bucks."

"How the heck are you supposed to do this with these stupid, flimsy things," Isabella said, looking at her newest paper scoop with scorn.

"You're using too much force," Stacy told her. "Be a little more deliberate about how you move it. Remember, it's not a net."

Isabella took a deep breath to calm herself and watched the goldfish swim just below her carefully. She spotted one swimming along close to the top and decided to make her move. She dipped the scoop into the water and, taking Stacy's advice, carefully moved it under the fish and lifted it delicately out and into her bowl.

"And there you go," Stacy told her happily. "Enjoy your ten dollar goldfish!"

Stacy heard Isabella call out her thanks to her as she continued making her rounds of the others. She spotted Ferb and Gretchen walking alone and stopped to admire the couple from afar. Gretchen hung on Ferb's arm as they chatted, but Stacy could see something more in their eyes as they looked and smiled at each other. There was some genuine happiness between the two of them, and she instantly knew it would be wrong to interfere with it for the sake of her own curiosity.

She then sighed and, after taking another look around, turned her gaze to the sky. Predictably, Ginger had disappeared with Baljeet the moment the group had broken up to partake in the festivities. She hoped feebly that her sister would be sensible, but deep down knew that she'd be needed for damage control soon enough.

* * *

Baljeet's back collided hard with a tree as he backpedaled. Ginger stood just a few feet away in the continually darkening woods, her bare shoulders peeking out from the edges of the yukata that she was just barely holding up by its edges. Baljeet's heart raced as he watched her slowly approach him. His mind, normally composed and sharp, raced with confusion and panic.

"What's the matter, dear," Ginger asked sultrily, dropping one of her hands slightly to reveal just a bit more skin. "Don't you like what you see?"

"No," Baljeet blurted nervously. "I mean yes! But…isn't this…I mean we're outside and…"

"No one will find us here," she told him soothingly. "And you can do whatever you like with me. I promised to always take care of you, and I intend to do just that, Baljeet."

"B-b-b-but we've only been…I mean we're still so young…"

Ginger finally stood just inches away from him. Her hands moved from her clothes to his face, cupping it gently as she leaned ever closer to him. "I don't care about age. I just want to make you happy. That's all."

Ginger felt her _yukata_ fall open more in the front and closed her eyes as she prepared to kiss Baljeet. Instead, she felt his hands grip her shoulders firmly and push her back a bit. She opened her eyes to see Baljeet looking back at her, red-faced but somewhat more resolute.

"Ginger," he said, voice still wavering from nerves. "I don't think this is right."

"Wh-what?"

Baljeet let go of her shoulders as he looked down and away from her slightly. "I care greatly for you, yes, but…I really don't know if I'm ready for this sort of thing yet. Plus, I don't want to feel like we're sneaking around to do it either. It seems unfair and…dishonorable."

Inside her head and heart, Ginger felt like panic alarms were screaming at her. "But…but I love you! I want this for you! For us!"

"And I'm not sure I want this yet!"

"Tonight is supposed to be the night, Baljeet! It was supposed to be perfect! I had it all planned out!"

"I can't plan out how I feel!"

Ginger gasped and staggered backwards a few steps as Baljeet seemed to throw the words in her face. She clutched her yukata around herself, suddenly feeling incredibly vulnerable. The realization that Stacy had been right all along horrified her. Baljeet started to step towards her to apologize, but she whirled and ran from him as fast as she could while hastily trying to re-dress herself. Baljeet tried to follow but ended up tripping over several unseen tree roots. He ran back into the festival, thinking he'd seen her head back there, but quickly found himself utterly lost in the crowd. Cursing himself, he sat on the steps leading up to the temple and held his head in his hands. After a few minutes of self-cursing and self-loathing, he noticed someone standing over him and looked up at them.

"Come with me," Stacy told him. "We need to talk, _gitei-kun_."

* * *

Baljeet waited patiently as Stacy quietly prayed at the temple to honor her ancestors. Several other people of Japanese descent were doing the same, and though he'd initially felt compelled to do the same Stacy had urged him not to do so just to try and fit in. So he waited in silence until her return a couple of minutes later.

"How much about our family has Ginger told you, Baljeet," Stacy asked him as they slowly walked around the temple grounds together.

"Apart from her rather antagonistic relationship with you, not much," he replied. "Sometimes she'll mention something about your mother's work, but nothing more than that."

"So she never mentioned that neither she nor I were born in America, then."

"No, she hasn't. But that hardly matters to me. I was born in India and lived there for some time until we moved here after my father's promotion."

"Lucky you. We didn't have that kind of luxury."

"But your mother is a doctor, right?"

"Both of our parents are doctors. That's how they met, after all. We were both born in Tokyo and lived there pretty happily for quite some time. At least we **thought** it was a happy life."

"What do you mean?"

"One year, mom wanted to surprise dad on his birthday. I was nine years old. Chizuru would've been about four."

Baljeet looked at her in confusion. "Who's Chizuru?"

"That's Ginger's Japanese name," Stacy told him, which earned her another even more confused look from Baljeet. "What? Did you honestly think a full-blooded native Japanese family would name their daughters Stacy and Ginger? By the way, my Japanese name is Satomi. But please, just stick with Stacy and Ginger for us. We've gotten so used to our American names that it's all we call each other anymore. Only our relatives in Japan still call us by our Japanese names."

"That must get confusing."

"Don't get me started. Anyway, we're digressing. Mom picked me up from school that day and we spent the afternoon getting cakes and presents and all sorts of stuff. Dad wasn't going to be home until late; at least he wasn't supposed to be."

"I don't like where this is going."

Stacy half-smiled at him. "You're perceptive; and, unfortunately, right. We got home and walked in on him with some other woman from his nursing staff. They were…well, you can figure out the rest. Mom was devastated by it. We moved out the same night into the home of my _baa-chan_, and after I finished that year of school we moved to the Tri-State Area and mom made us change our names to something that sounded American. We haven't seen dad since then, but every once in a while I know he calls to check on us."

"How do you know?"

"The phone calls are always short and end with my mom using some Japanese insults I wouldn't use on my worst enemy."

"Oh. That's quite a story, but what does it have to do with me? And more to the point, what does it have to do with me and Ginger?"

"Everything," Stacy said as she stopped walking. "Ginger may have been young, but she remembers that day pretty clearly. She remembers the chaos and confusion and how much it tore our mom apart. She told me once she never wanted to feel like that again, especially when she found someone to love."

"And that's why she's so obsessed with planning and organization, isn't it?"

"Perceptive observation once again. She's planned as much of her life out as she could, and that includes your guys' relationship."

"Here I thought she just wanted to have an advance idea of what kind of dates we'd be going on. I didn't know it went this far."

"I didn't either until I snuck a peek in her organizer one afternoon. She was pretty livid that I found out, but not as angry as I was at her for what she was intending to pull."

"So you know about how she…"

"Tried to jump you in the forest near the festival? Yeah. I would've tried to give you a heads up, but I didn't think you'd believe me after how much I've tried to shake your dating life up; which, by the way, I only did to try and get her out of her stupid plan. I never meant anything mean by all of it."

"I appreciate the sentiment, though. It makes a lot of things make much more sense now. But all the same…what am I supposed to do now? I don't know where Ginger went off to, and even if I did I don't know what I would say to her."

Stacy stopped walking and turned to fully face Baljeet. "I'm pretty sure I know where she is, but as for the rest that's up to you alone."

Baljeet looked down at the ground dejectedly. "I'm not even sure she'll want to see me again."

"Look, twisted though it may have been Ginger did what she did for your sake, Baljeet. She's loved you for so long and so intensely that she just wants you both to have the perfect life together and that's a big part of why she went crazy trying to plan every moment of it. What you need to decide is if that's what you want out of your relationship, or if you're not really comfortable with a life set on cruise control. If the plan is actually what you want, then I suggest picking up where you left off in the woods."

"I think I've already made it abundantly clear that that is not what I want."

"In which case you're going to have to take charge of things for once. And to be honest, that's how I've hoped things would turn out. So don't be afraid to change things up or be a little bold on occasion with her. That's the sort of influence she needs in her life."

"I'll see what I can do, but I am still a nerd at heart. Nonetheless, I do care a lot about Ginger. I want to be with her, but I don't want to be the only one who's happy in our relationship."

Stacy smiled and hugged Baljeet. "Don't forget that sentiment when you talk to her. It'll help you figure out exactly what to do."

Baljeet nodded to her after she let him go. "So, can you lead me to where she is?"

"I could, or you could just look over there," Stacy said, pointing to the top of the steps in front of the temple. Ginger stood there, her yukata properly reset, and looking incredibly remorseful.

"How did you know she would be there?"

"I saw her there as we came out of the temple. Now go get her, _gitei-kun_."

"You called me that before. What does that even mean?"

Stacy just giggled and winked as she began walking away from him. "Oh you'll find out on your own someday. I have a pretty good feeling about that."

Baljeet sighed to himself, but gave a silent thanks to Stacy for her words as he approached his girlfriend. As he did, he could tell she had been crying pretty hard by her bloodshot eyes and dampened sleeves. He stood in silence a couple feet away from her, wondering if she would be the first to say something. After almost five minutes of silence, Baljeet finally knew he'd have to take the initiative just as Stacy had told him. Fortunately, he'd figured he knew exactly what to say.

"This country is pretty amazing when you think about it," he told her as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and wandered a bit away from her. "Where else could two immigrant kids from such different countries as ours meet up and start having a relationship?"

"I guess you're right," Ginger replied meekly.

"But you know what the greatest thing about it is?"

"What would that be?"

"That we have the freedom to screw up."

"I don't recall any part of the Constitution that gives us the freedom to screw up."

"Sure there is. People just call it 'freedom of choice' because 'freedom to screw' up doesn't sound as attractive."

Despite her continued sorrow, Ginger couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the idea.

"It's thanks to that freedom to screw up that so many people before us did so many amazing things," Baljeet said, continuing his train of thought. "I mean none of the really great things or ideas that came about were perfect the first time though. Not to mention there wasn't a whole lot of planning involved in how things were supposed to go."

"There was at least some planning though."

"Yes, there was. But there were still screw ups. Things went sideways. Unexpected events happened. And yet people picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and carried on. Just because things don't go how you think they should doesn't mean it's the end of the world."

"I don't know how people can live with so much uncertainty in their lives. How can you possibly live like that without worrying about what might happen next?"

"I think that's part of what life is about: not knowing what's next. And the measure of us, as people, is in how we deal with those unexpected things."

"I'm not measuring up very well right now, then. All I could do is run away and cry like a baby."

"But you came back here," Baljeet told her as he stepped up and took her hands into his. "And you're here with me now, which means you don't want to give up on us. Right?"

Ginger nodded silently as more tears rolled down her face. Baljeet reached up and tried his best to wipe them away as he looked into her eyes.

"I care very deeply for you, Ginger. Don't ever doubt that. I'm just very uncomfortable with physicality, especially in places that are not exactly private."

Ginger nodded to him with a sniffle. "I can appreciate that. I've just watched too many dramas where this sort of thing happens, I guess. I should've asked you what you wanted. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't be so complacent about our relationship. I don't want everything we do to be just about my happiness. I want **you** to be happy too, Ginger. That means more to me than you can imagine."

"I just don't want to lose you because you feel neglected, Baljeet. That's how my mother lost my father…because he felt neglected due to my mother's devotion to her work. I'm terrified that someday I might lose you because I'm not doing enough for you."

"How could I ever possibly feel neglected when I have someone as loving and dedicated as you? Just remember, your happiness is just as important as mine, and I will do my best to make sure you never feel neglected as well."

From her vantage point, all Stacy saw was a lengthy talk between the two that ended with them kissing in each other's arms, which was all she needed to see to know things had worked out somehow. She quickly produced her cell phone and, after composing a quick text message to her younger sister, placed a call to her own boyfriend.

"Hey, it's me," she said once Coltrane picked up. "Mission accomplished. You still got time tonight? Great. I'll be over in a few. No, not my place this time. Mom's working the graveyard shift tonight, but I think someone else needs the house more than me. See you soon, baby. I love you."

Flipping her phone closed, Stacy began making her way out of the festival and on to her own romantic rendezvous for the evening, though not before taking one more look at her sister and "_gitei-kun_" as she now had resolved to refer to Baljeet, her presumed future "brother-in-law".

* * *

"That sounds pretty hot and heavy," Isabella said into her phone as she finished towel-drying her hair from her shower. She'd been home from the Japanese festival for an hour now and had called to let Ginger know she'd get her _yukata_ back to her the next day. It had turned into a now fifteen-minute conversation about what had happened at the festival and what had happened when she and Baljeet had gotten back to her house.

"Gretchen was right," Ginger told her through the phone. "Making out with Baljeet was as physically satisfying as it was emotionally satisfying. I just went about it all wrong earlier. Being at home really did make things a lot more comfortable. I have to thank Stacy for the heads up that mom was working late tonight. I also have to thank her for setting me straight. There's a limit to what you can, or really should, plan after all."

Isabella laughed a little. "In my case there's almost no way I can plan anything."

"Yeah, no kidding. Phineas is kind of the incarnation of unpredictability, isn't he?"

"To say the least."

"But that does make your guys' situation even weirder."

"How so?"

"Well, I mean…you guys got together first among us. Yet Gretchen and I have gone farther than you guys have, at least as far as fooling around with our boyfriends goes. I would've thought you two being so much more spontaneous would be all over each other at this point."

"That's…complicated," Isabella said, trying to dodge the issue.

"It's none of my business, I know. I mean, you guys will go at your own pace and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just a little odd to me is all."

"Don't worry about it, Ginger. You're not the first person to tell me this."

"Anyway, I'm gonna go take another bath here and try to cool down some more. I'm still all hot and bothered."

"You do that. I'll see you tomorrow with the _yukata_. Oh, and thanks again for letting me borrow it today. It really was beautiful."

"Any time you want to borrow it just say so. Same goes for the rest of the girls. It's like I say, everyone looks good in _yukata_."

Isabella laughed and, after bidding her friend goodbye, closed her phone and tossed it unceremoniously onto her nightstand. She looked out her window across the street to the Flynn-Fletcher home to the light in Phineas and Ferb's room, which was still on.

'It **is** weird,' she mused as her thoughts turned to Phineas. 'But it's not for lack of desire that I haven't gone that far with Phineas yet.'

Isabella flopped down onto her bed and reached for a framed photo of the two of them together from one of their amusement park trips.

"It's because anymore I can't help but feel that just making out with you would be enough," she said, as if talking directly to Phineas. "I love you so much, Phineas…but I'm so scared of what's next for us."

As Isabella tortured herself with the same line of thoughts she'd been having ever since the pool party back near the beginning of summer, one thing became crystal clear to her. This wasn't something she could keep bottled up forever. Somehow, somewhere, sometime, she was going to need to talk to someone about it.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Isabella's concern about taking the next step in her relationship with Phineas does not go unnoticed. Two very different people have two separate conversations with her to try and help her sort out her thoughts and feelings.

* * *

**Translation Notes for this chapter**:

The title "Kanchigai" means "misunderstanding". The rest of the actual Japanese used here is explained within the story itself.


	16. The Talk

**The Talk**

It didn't take any manner of clairvoyance for Vivian Garcia-Shapiro to figure out that something was bothering her daughter. For almost the past week now, Isabella had not quite been as vibrant as she usually was. Vivian knew there were a limited number of things that could cause such a change in her daughter, and the most likely one lived just across the street. As Isabella lay with her head down on the kitchen table while waiting on lunch, Vivian took a seat across from her. It would be some time before their chicken and lentil enchiladas were done, after all.

"Okay, let's hear it," she told Isabella.

Isabella looked up at her mother blankly. "Hear what?"

"Whatever it is that's on your mind. Isa, I know a troubled look when I see one. You're acting like you broke up with _mi yerno_, and I **know** that hasn't happened. So talk to me, dear."

"No offense, mom, but I'm not sure you'll approve very much of what's on my mind these days."

"Unless you're trying to hide that you're with child, I doubt that."

The very thought turned Isabella's face beet red in an instant. "Mom! Come on! Phineas and I haven't even hardly touched each other yet! Even though all my other friends…"

As Isabella's voice trailed off, Vivian now understood a fair bit more of what was plaguing her daughter's mind.

"It must be hard to feel like you're being left behind," Vivian said, to which Isabella just nodded in embarrassment. "It begs the question of what's holding **you** back, dear."

Isabella chewed on her lower lip as she looked at her mother, who simply smiled back at her pleasantly. She could tell her mother would sit waiting like that all day if that's what it took to get the truth out of her. She sighed heavily and decided to simply give her the full brunt of it, though inwardly she braced herself for whatever reaction she would get for it.

"I'm not sure I want to **just** make out with Phineas," she said. "Rather, I feel like I want…something more than that with him."

"I see now," Vivian said, the full scope of the issue now revealed. She took a moment to gather her thoughts on the matter and then said, "So what's stopping you?"

Isabella looked at her mother in full disbelief. "Seriously, mom? Your teenage daughter is here talking about…you know...something so illicit…and with her boyfriend…"

"It's called sex, dear. You don't have to mince words."

Isabella propped her head up on her hands at the table as she tried to avoid her mother's gaze. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation."

Vivian just grinned at her daughter and leaned forward onto her arms. "You still need to answer my question."

"Oh for the...come on, mom! Nevermind that I'm talking about having…sex with Phineas, there's kinda, y'know, the whole age thing?"

"Oh please, I was roughly your age when I had sex for the first time."

Isabella stifled her gag reflex at the thought of her mother being sexually active. "Wow, I really didn't need to know that."

Vivian laughed as she sat back again. "You're the one who wants to talk about sex, Isa."

"Mom, come on…"

"Okay, okay. I won't tease you about it anymore. But really, my question stands. What's stopping you?"

Isabella blushed once again as she tried to avoid eye contact with her mother now. "I…I honestly don't know."

"Do you love Phineas?"

Isabella looked somewhat scathingly at her mother. "That's a rhetorical question, right?"

"Well, if you love him that much then I don't understand what the problem is."

"There's pregnancy for starters."

"You've been on birth control for two years to regulate your menstrual cycles."

"And disease."

"Do you really think Phineas has had sex with anyone else?"

"And I don't want to be thought of as easy."

"You've been dating him for almost a year, Isa. Most _adult_ couples don't wait even half that long to be intimate with each other."

"And I'm worried about what it might do to our relationship. What if we do it and he loses interest in me?"

"Phineas certainly doesn't seem like that sort of a man to me, dear. Do you think so little of him?"

"Of course not! But…mom, why are you doing this? You're practically telling me to just go ahead and do it with him!"

"No dear," Vivian said as she stood up to check on their lunch. "I'm merely pointing out to you that all your so-called reasons for not doing it are nothing but excuses. You haven't come up with anything that could actually be a concrete reason to not have sex with the man you love."

"What about the impurity of it? Pre-marital sex is supposed to be bad, right?"

It was Vivian's turn to look disbelievingly at her daughter. "Explain to me how making love to someone you love with all your heart and who loves you back the same could possibly lead to eternal damnation."

"Mom, you're really not making this any easier for me…"

"It's not supposed to be an easy decision, Isa. If it were easy, we wouldn't be talking about it; you would already know. The bottom line, dear, is this is nobody's choice to make but yours. It is **your** relationship with Phineas. It is **your** body to decide to give to him. It is **your** love for him that you want to express to him. No religious book or moral code has any authority over you here aside from whatever power you allow it to have. And certainly no other person has any right to judge you no matter what you decide to do or when. It is no one's business but your own, and anyone who tries to make it their business for any supposed 'reason' is not worth your consideration."

Isabella frowned yet again and sprawled across the kitchen table, her confusion and frustration simply too much for her at the moment. As sure as she was that her mother was making valid points, things like logic and reason simply weren't resonating with her.

"It still feels like you're telling me to go ahead and do it, mom," she told her. "Would you still be telling me these things if it wasn't Phineas I was considering?"

"To be honest…I'm not sure," Vivian said, sitting back down across from her daughter after having taken their lunch out of the oven to cool. "I'd like to think I would, but I don't know. What I do know, though, is that it is Phineas you're considering. I have known his mother, Linda, for many years. She is one of my closest friends, and I have full faith that she has raised her children to be good, upstanding people."

Vivian then took her daughter's face in her hands and lifted it off the table so she could look into her eyes. "And I also know how much you love him, _querida_. In all my years I have never seen such love and dedication as what you have for Phineas. I know you would never think about giving yourself to someone you didn't truly care for with all your heart and soul. And he returns that feeling, yes?"

Isabella blushed as she recalled Phineas' confession to her weeks earlier in his driveway. A small smile crept across her face at the memory. "Yes. Yes he does."

"What more could I wish for, then, than to want my daughter to be happy with the man she loves? The rest is up to you and your heart, Isa, and know that I will never judge you for following your heart."

Isabella got up from her seat and walked around the table to where her mother was sitting, hugging her tightly upon reaching her.

"_Gracias, mama_," she said quietly.

"_De nada, mi hija_," Vivian replied in kind. "So do you know what you'll do now?"

Isabella shook her head at her. "Not really, but I'm at least not as stressed out about it as I was before."

"Well that's a start. Perhaps you just need some food in your belly to fuel your brain so you can think about it more properly."

"Mom, eating is your answer to everything."

"That's because food always helps," Vivian told her, patting her daughter's cheek lightly before going back to the oven. "Besides, healthy eating has certainly helped you so far. I'm certain _mi yerno_ has appreciated how you have, uh…blossomed, Isa."

Isabella suddenly became incredibly self-conscious as she noted her mother looking straight at her chest and quickly folded her arms to hide herself.

"Phineas isn't like that, mom! Besides…I'm not that big. Gretchen has me beat easily." She pouted slightly as she once again admitted her jealousy of her best friend's figure.

"All the more reason to get a good lunch in you. I'll double your usual portion. We'll get you caught up, dear."

"_**Mom!**_"

Vivian laughed heartily as her daughter continued to fume at her. If nothing else, she was delighted to see Isabella getting her mind off of her concern over the direction of her relationship with Phineas, even if only for the lunch hour.

* * *

Tri-State Classic Custard was known throughout Danville as the best place for ice cream and other frozen treats. Isabella was no stranger to the place, having been on several dates with Phineas that had invariably taken them there. She had, however, never been there with the other Flynn sibling.

"You really don't have to do this, Candace," Isabella told her yet again as they stood in line waiting to place their order.

"I just made you waste half your afternoon on yet another dress fitting session," Candace replied. "I have to make it up to you, and ice cream never disappoints. Or frozen yogurt in my case."

"You do realize this is just wasting more of my time anyway?"

Candace looked at her sternly for her comment. "Ice cream is **never** a waste of time."

"True enough, I guess," Isabella conceded with a shrug.

Candace smirked and leaned towards Isabella, an inquisitive look on her face. "So…whatcha-"

"Don't even," Isabella told her flatly.

"Heh, sorry. Had to try. Whadya want?"

"I think I'll go with a banana split. You?"

"My usual: mint chocolate chip fro-yo."

"Always a good choice. I'll go get us a table to sit at."

A few minutes later, the two girls sat across from each other in a booth enjoying their treats. Candace finished hers quickly while Isabella took her time, savoring the different flavors as well as the banana.

"So…" Candace said, idly playing with her spoon as she watched Isabella eat. "When are you planning on jumping my brother?"

Isabella all but choked on a bite of banana at the sudden and incredibly blunt question.

"What kind of question is that," she asked, wide-eyed and incredibly alarmed.

Candace narrowed her eyes at the Mexican-Jewish girl. "Isabella, I've been picking up on your pheromones for the past hour now. And unless you're cheating on Phineas, which is all but impossible in my mind, then you're interested in more than just asking him what he's up to the next time you see him."

Isabella hung her head, feeling a bit ashamed. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"I think even Phineas would pick up on it."

"I was talking to my mother earlier today about it. There was a lot I was scared of with regards to…well, you know."

"It's called sex, Isabella. You don't need to mince words around me."'

Isabella could practically feel her head spin. "Wow, you too? Mom said almost the same thing to me."

"Well, that's what it is. Why bother trying to be cute about it?"

Isabella found herself sighing once again and stuck her spoon into her sundae before looking at Candace again.

"My talk with mom helped me work out some of it, but I'm still scared about it."

"You can pick my brain if you like. I do have experience in this matter too, after all."

"So I guess that means…you and Jeremy have done it?"

Candace smirked at her. "I doubt we'd still be together if we hadn't by now."

"When was your first time," Isabella asked, suddenly becoming keenly interested in Candace's perspective.

"Well my mother seems to think it was last spring when Jeremy and I went to Florida for spring break."

"And the reality is…?"

"It was the summer before my senior year of high school."

"Whoa, really?"

"Remember when I stayed home that summer while you guys went to visit Grandma Betty Jo and Grandpa Clyde for the weekend?"

"I thought you said that was because you wanted to be around to help Stacy because she broke her leg?"

"Which was true, but one day Jeremy came over after I'd been to check on her. One thing led to another and…you get the picture."

"Was it…I mean, did it…hurt?"

Candace saw the look in Isabella's face was equal parts concern and curiosity. For the most part she saw no reason to sugar-coat her answer, but she also didn't want to scare the girl off of the matter entirely. She composed her response in her mind for a moment before she spoke again.

"At first, yeah," she told Isabella, who was now hanging on her every word. "But it wasn't anything I couldn't bear. And it didn't last the entire time. Not to mention that there were other things I was thinking and experiencing as well."

"Like what?"

"For one thing, I was really incredibly happy to be sharing something so special and important with Jeremy. When it's with someone you really love, sex is more than just physically pleasing. I was also really touched by how much trouble he was going to just to try and make me feel good and comfort me. He could tell early on I wasn't necessarily enjoying myself, and seeing him so concerned for me was incredibly moving at the time. Of course, after about the halfway point of our first time the pain had pretty much gone away and it started getting really good."

"Really?"

Candace laughed a bit at Isabella's apparent disbelief. "Oh yeah. And every time since then has only gotten better, in more ways than one."

Isabella sat back, trying to come to terms with the reality Candace had presented her with. Combined with her mother's talk earlier, it had the effect of giving her a bit of a different perspective on the idea of taking her relationship with Phineas to a whole new level.

"All of that said," Candace said, gaining Isabella's attention once again, "that's just my experience. Yours may be totally different."

"But not necessarily bad, right," Isabella asked.

"Isabella, you and I arguably know Phineas better than anyone; including my own mother. Do you honestly think he could ever intend to hurt anyone, let alone you?"

Isabella shook her head vigorously at her. "Absolutely not."

"My sentiments exactly," Candace replied with a nod. "And what's more, you two are crazy about each other. I've seen it every time I've seen you two together over the course of the past year. You're a fantastic couple and I know when you finally do have sex it will be a defining moment in your relationship. Just don't do it because you think you need to catch up with others. I saw way too many couples in high school break up because they rushed things."

"I understand. Thank you so much Candace. It really is helpful to hear this sort of stuff from someone outside my family."

"Oh please. Don't you remember what I told you and Gretchen? So long as you two are dating my brothers, you're family. Besides, we're gonna be sisters-in-law someday anyway. Right?"

Candace winked at Isabella, who simply giggled in response. She was definitely feeling much better about her concerns over sex, though a bit of uncertainty still lingered in her mind. As she wondered what Phineas would say if she knew she had been thinking about this, her cell phone rang with the sound of "Gitchee Gitchee Goo", which told her it happened to be Phineas who was calling her.

"Hey Phineas," she replied upon answering her phone. "Whatcha doin'? Oh, really? Well yeah I'm free, but why? Wait…what? Run that by me again. This is for real? Well…I'll need to check with my mom, but I should be able to come. I'll call you back later, okay? I'm having ice cream with Candace right now. Uh huh. Okay. Love you too. Bye."

Isabella closed her phone, set it on the table next to her sundae, and proceeded to lose herself in thought at what had just happened.

"What's up," Candace asked, after giving Isabella some time to absorb the call. "Something up with Phineas?"

"You could say that," Isabella said slowly as she looked up at Candace. "Apparently your mom has asked Phineas to deliver a special antique to a buyer himself and he wants me to go with him."

"Well that doesn't sound like such a big deal. I mean, I've delivered stuff for my folks before as well. Ferb too, though he's under the weather right now. That's probably why Phineas got tapped."

"That's not what the big deal is. It's where the delivery needs to go."

"Well, where is it? Downtown? Over on the west side?"

Isabella pulled her eyes away from Candace and looked up to the sky outside the ice cream shop as she uttered the name of the place the delivery needed to go.

"Las Vegas."

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Phineas and Isabella travel to Las Vegas, Nevada in order to make a special delivery on behalf of the Flynn-Fletcher Antique Shop. What could possibly go wrong?


	17. Sin City of Love, Part One

**Sin City of Love, part one**

The cold fusion reactor would have to wait once again. Not only was he without Ferb's help to complete it due to Ferb having come down with a nasty cold, but an urgent text message from his mother had motivated Phineas to drop what he was doing and go see what she needed. After having been allowed to throw two massive parties that summer so far, he felt he owed it to her to be there when she needed him. He quickly entered the kitchen and found his mother waiting patiently at the kitchen table for him with a medium-sized, nondescript cardboard box in front of her.

"I got here as quickly as I could mom," he said as he came to a stop next to the table. "Whadya need?"

"Thanks for coming, sweetie," Linda said, smiling as she stood from the table. "I hate to impose on you like this, but something has come up and I need someone I can rely on."

"I'll do my best at it mom. Uh, at whatever it is."

"I just got off the phone with a rather important customer of ours through the antique shop. He's given us a lot of business in the past and had asked your father and I to keep an eye out for some particularly rare things for him. We recently found one of them and the customer couldn't be happier. There's just one problem. He's paying a lot for this item, but he's had bad experiences in the past with standard shipping methods. He's asked us to deliver the item in person, which wouldn't be such a big deal except that he doesn't live in Danville. He doesn't even live in the Tri-State Area for that matter."

"Where does he live?"

"Las Vegas, Nevada."

"Whoa."

Linda nodded to her son as she folded her arms. "'Whoa' indeed. He's actually the owner of one of the resorts on the Las Vegas strip and he wants the item delivered to him there to be added to his collection that's on display. That's the problem. Your father needs to be around to mind the store. I have to stay here because Ferb's sick and Candace needs me around for her wedding preparations. I hate to ask this of you, Phineas; especially with your birthday being the day after tomorrow. But I really don't have any other option. I need you to make the delivery."

"Sure thing! I should be able to handle something like this, even if I'll be going solo."

"Thank you so much, honey. It'll be a same-day trip, so you'll leave tomorrow morning and be back tomorrow night late. I just wish there was someone who could go with you. Las Vegas has changed a lot over the years, but it's still not the sort of place I'm happy with sending my teenage son alone."

"Hmm…well, what if I took Isabella with me?"

Linda stopped herself from having a kneejerk reaction to the idea of sending both her son and his girlfriend to Las Vegas of all places and instead considered the suggestion for a moment. Of Phineas' various friends, she had indeed proven to be the most trustworthy and reliable. Her mother, Vivian, was also a longtime friend of hers who Linda trusted implicitly. And it was only for the day, so there wouldn't be any concern for overnight lodging.

"Call and check with her," Linda told her son after thinking it over. "I'll go talk to Vivian now and see what she thinks."

Phineas produced his phone from his pocket as his mother briefly left the house to talk to her friend across the street. Just a couple of rings later, Isabella picked up.

"Hey Phineas," she said cheerily. "Whatcha doin'?"

"The question really should be what'll **we** be doing," he told her slyly. "You're free tomorrow, right?"

* * *

Despite the fact that the flight from Danville to Las Vegas wasn't all that long, Phineas once again exhibited his uncanny ability to fall asleep on a plane almost as soon as it took off. It was only by Isabella's insistent poking of his ribs that he woke up in time to see their arrival at McCarran International Airport. As the plane descended, portions of the famous Las Vegas strip were immediately visible. Most noteworthy was the giant, black pyramid that was the Luxor resort.

"Is that actually a hotel," Isabella asked, her eyes fixed on the black pyramid below.

"Man, I kind of wish we had more time available," Phineas said, simply entranced by what little he could already see of the strip. "So many structural marvels here…it's like looking inside my own imagination!"

"All the more reason for us to stay on task here. We don't want to miss our flight home. It's your birthday tomorrow, after all."

"Oh I know. Still, I definitely want to come back here sometime when I can walk and look around."

"Preferably not in the middle of summer. You do know it's going to be a hundred degrees in the shade, right?"

Phineas shrugged at her. "Eh, it's dry heat. It won't be all that bad."

"So how far do we have to go?"

"Not all that far, I don't think," Phineas said, producing a scrap of paper with their destination written on it. "The buyer's resort is fairly close to the end of the strip that's closest to the airport. Supposedly there's going to be transportation waiting for us once we're out of the terminal."

Isabella sighed in relief. "That's good. I was worried we'd need to catch a cab or something."

Their conversation was cut off by their stewardess announcing to the plane that they were preparing to land. Phineas and Isabella straightened themselves up and, not long after, the plane landed safely at the airport and was soon at its arrival gate. Isabella grabbed the backpack she'd brought and Phineas retrieved the box he was meant to deliver. Together they de-boarded the plane and made their way out of the terminal. Sure enough, as they descended the escalator to the baggage claim area, they saw a number of people standing with signs bearing last names on them. One was a man just a bit taller than Phineas in a black suit, white shirt, black tie and dark sunglasses with a sign that read "Flynn" on it. The two disregarded baggage claim, not having any luggage to pick up, and walked straight up to the man.

"Phineas Flynn," the man asked as they stopped in front of him.

"Yup, that's me," Phineas said. "Nice to meet you, uh…"

"Name's Ollie. Mr. Davis sent me to pick you up. And the little lady is…"

"Isabella Garcia-Shapiro," Isabella said politely. "I came along to help assist in the delivery."

Ollie looked at the two somewhat suspiciously. "Aren't you two a bit young to be visiting Las Vegas?"

Phineas grinned at him and nodded. "Yes. Yes we are. At least we would be for purposes of gambling or any of those kind of activities. We're really just here to make the delivery. Our flight home leaves late this afternoon."

Ollie had to laugh. Phineas' wit and pluck were admirable. "Fair enough. C'mon, let's get you guys to the resort. Mr. Davis is anxious to receive his purchase."

Phineas and Isabella followed quickly behind Ollie as he led them past baggage claim, out of the terminal, and over to a long, black, stretch limousine parked outside. He opened the passenger door and beckoned to them to enter.

"You've got to be kidding me," Isabella said in disbelief. "We get to ride in a limo?"

"Mr. Davis doesn't want any chances taken with this delivery," Ollie told her. "Plus, he said to consider you guys as honored guests."

"This thing must be a pretty big deal to him," Phineas said, holding up the box and looking at it curiously. "Whatever it is."

"Buddy, you have no idea," Ollie said, shaking his head.

The inside of the limousine was like nothing Phineas or Isabella had ever ridden in before. In addition to having a tremendous amount of room to stretch out in, there was a decently sized flat-panel TV, an ice bucket with several different kinds of bottles of soda, one of the best sound systems Phineas had ever seen in a car and the ceiling inside had multiple different lighting effects playing across it.

"I've made, driven, and ridden in rockets, all-terrain vehicles, monster trucks, and a ton of other vehicles," Phineas said as he reveled in the luxury, "but this just flat out blows all of that away."

"Don't take this wrong, Phineas, but yes; yes it does," Isabella added as she practically melted into the incredibly comfortable seat.

Ollie grinned to himself as he idly listened to his two teenage passengers ogle the city as he casually drove them back to the resort. They were a cute enough pair, presumably a couple he figured. He'd seen enough during his time in Las Vegas to know a couple when he saw one, and they weren't the youngest pair in love he'd ever seen come through the city. At least they seemed to have a better handle on their relationship than most kids their age.

It wasn't long before the limo pulled up to the main entrance of the resort and Ollie was ushering Phineas and Isabella out of the car and into the hotel. Phineas wanted to further revel at the incredible interior of the hotel, but forced himself to stay focused on the task at hand. With the package firmly in his hands, he followed Ollie through the hotel with Isabella right by his side. They went through several doors intended for employee use only, up two different elevators, and finally through a massive set of double doors that led into an incredibly posh office. Inside was a man who stood a full head taller than Phineas with a nearly full head of grey hair and an impeccable three-piece suit. He turned and smiled broadly upon seeing them enter.

"You must be Phineas Flynn," the man said as he walked up to Phineas. He nodded approvingly as he looked him over. "Linda's always spoken highly of you. I'm Moe Davis."

Phineas tucked the box under his left arm and shook the man's hand with his right. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

"And this lovely young lady must be your girlfriend, am I right? Ms. Garcia-Shapiro, I believe?"

"How did you know my name," Isabella asked, surprised by the man's knowledge of her.

"Linda also speaks highly of you, my dear. I've been acquainted with her for several years now, as she and Lawrence have found many things for my various collections. Speaking of which, I take it you have their latest find with you?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Davis," Phineas said, quickly placing the package down carefully on a nearby table. Mr. Davis grabbed a letter opener from his desk and proceeded to cut the tape sealing the box. He opened it up and took a moment to behold his prize before lifting it out with incredible care. It was a plate of some sort, which he turned to show the two teens.

"The incredibly rare Elvis Presley commemorative collector's plate that was accidentally released with the wrong lyrics printed on it," he said reverently. Sure enough, the plate read "Ain't Nothin' But A Hot Dog" across the top. Phineas and Isabella traded looks of skepticism about the actual value of such an item, but simply shrugged at each other as Mr. Davis placed the plate on his desk before returning to them.

"I can't tell you how much this particular item means to me," he told them, smiling brilliantly at them. "If there's ever anything I can do for you here in Las Vegas, please let me know."

"We appreciate it, Mr. Davis," Phineas told him politely, "but I doubt we'll be able to take you up on that for some time. We're not here for very much longer, after all. My birthday is tomorrow and our fight home leaves at six 'o clock."

"Then some other time when you're visiting the city. Trust me, my boy, I never forget those who do me favors or services like the one you've done for me."

"If you say so, sir. If it's all right, I think we'll go get some lunch and walk around for a while before it's time to head back to the airport."'

"By all means. Shall I have Ollie drive you around?"

"No, that's okay. We'll walk."

"As you wish. Thank you both again for humoring my request regarding this delivery. You've made this old man quite happy."

Phineas and Isabella shook hands with Mr. Davis one more time and then followed Ollie back out of the office and to the hotel. With the delivery a complete success, they were now left to their own devices for the next few hours. The idea was nothing short of a dream come true to Phineas.

* * *

Isabella couldn't have wiped the smile off of her face if she'd absolutely had to; her joy was all-encompassing. She'd had lunch alone with Phineas at the buffet at Mandalay Bay, they'd hit the huge M&M's store and she'd bought an array of the famous candy in colors she'd never seen it in before, and now they were walking along the strip side by side. She looked over and saw Phineas taking in all the sights. There had been a time when she would've lamented the lack of attention he was currently giving her, but she could tell he was simply on cloud nine as he looked at all the structural marvels that flanked the famous stretch of road.

"That place seriously does look like New York City," he said, looking at the New York, New York resort. "What I wouldn't have given to see it while it was being built."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself so much, Phineas," she told him.

"This goes way being enjoyment," he said, looking back over at her. "It's like they collected up all the things Ferb and I have built over the years and made a whole city out of them! It's just…words really don't suffice."

Isabella smiled again and left the moment at that, content that Phineas was having a great time.

"What about you," he asked, turning his attention fully to her. "Are you having fun here?"

"How could I not be," she replied. "I'm alone in this crazy, fantastic city with my boyfriend. How could this get much better?"

Phineas quickly jumped in front of her, a quirky smile on his face. "I can think of one way, mademoiselle."

Isabella giggled a bit. "Why the sudden French?"

"What else would I speak while we're at…"

Phineas stepped aside and gestured to the resort that was now just in front of them. Isabella gasped as she saw its majesty before her: the grandiose hotel, the hot air balloon, but most specifically the replica of the Eiffel Tower.

"…Paris." She said in wonderment. "Oh Phineas…"

"Now let's see," he said as he thought for a moment. "How did it go? Ah yes, I think I remember now. Though you'll have to pardon me if I give this one my own little spin."

Isabella was completely mystified by what Phineas was up to right until he pulled her into the resort and, with a dramatic flourish, broke into his rendition of an all-too familiar song.

"_We could share a cold sundae at a fake Parisian café_," he sung, gesturing to a nearby ice cream shop.

He then quickly snatched a rose from a walking flower vendor and held it out towards Isabella as they neared one of the feet of the Eiffel Tower replica that was actually inside the resort.

"_Take a break and smell this flower underneath the Eiffel Tower…_"

Isabella smiled and took the rose from him, sniffing it briefly as he took her hand again and pulled her closer to him.

"_I'm so glad you shared this day with me…there's no one with whom I'd rather be in the City of Love. In the City of Love._"

Isabella felt like she could melt right then and there, but Phineas had more yet to sing. He led her through the resort even more as his song continued.

"_Come with me now if you please, as we stroll on through these trees,_" he sang as they passed several small trees that lined their path.

Phineas quickly took her into a store, snatched a hat from a rack, and expertly tossed it so it landed perfectly atop her head.

"_By the way I've meant to say, you're really cute in a beret._" He smiled brilliantly at her after the line, to which she blushed heavily.

They left the store, and the beret, behind as they continued through the resort yet more.

"_It's just a shame that on this great day, we can't stroll on down the Champs-Élysées in the City of Love,_" he sang, looking at her apologetically. Isabella wanted to say something at this point, but knew the song wasn't quite over yet and held her tongue. They stopped beneath the Eiffel Tower once again as Phineas took both her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

"_I know what you longed to hear from me on that day,_" he sang, squeezing her hands a little. "_And now I'm here to tell you…ma chérie, je t'aime…in the City of Love. In the City of Love. in the City of…Love._"

With the song finally finished, Isabella quickly and tightly embraced Phineas, trying to hide the happy tears rolling down her face from him. Phineas put his arms around her as well and simply enjoyed being close to his girlfriend both physically and emotionally.

"I didn't mean to ignore you that day, Isabella," he told her quietly. "But back then, and for a long time for that matter, I thought the best way to express feelings for people was to just do stuff for them and with them. Words didn't seem like they'd ever really suffice to express how I felt. Now, though…I know that there are some things that **should** be said, regardless of whether or not they have to be said."

"It's funny," Isabella said, picking her head up to look at him again. She wiped some tears from her eyes and then smiled at him. "Here you are pouring your heart out to me in song…and for once **I'm** the one who doesn't know what to say."

"You don't have to say a thing, Izzie. Your smile says it all. I'm glad I could give you a happy memory on this little trip."

Isabella just nodded and, after she took Phineas' arm again, the two headed out of Paris and back to the strip to continue a bit more sightseeing.

"What an amazing day," Isabella commented. "I don't think it could get any better at this point."

"Maybe, but tomorrow will be way more awesome," Phineas said confidently. "Though I'm probably a little biased there, considering it's **my** birthday and all."

"Yeah, maybe just a little."

"Still, you're right. This has been a great day. I really don't see how it could go bad at this point. You know, barring any unforeseen mishaps."

At the merest invocation of Murphy's Law, Phineas' phone buzzed in his pocket to alert him to a text message. He stopped to read it briefly and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh oh," he said.

Isabella felt her heart drop at his utterance. "It's never good when you say that. What's happened?"

"An unforeseen mishap," he told her, taking her by the hand again. "Let's get back to Mr. Davis' resort."

Isabella knew better than to insist on full disclosure when Phineas' voice had such a sense of urgency to it. The two took off running back along the strip headed for the resort and hopefully to make some sense out of what was going on.

* * *

Ollie was more than a little surprised to see Phineas and Isabella running up to him as he stood at the valet station outside the resort. He could also tell there was concern written on their faces and moved to meet them as they slowed down.

"Back so soon," he asked. "You guys still have some time before your flight, right? Why're you back here?"

"Yeah, what _is_ going on Phineas," Isabella asked, now that they were back.

"I got a text message from our airline while we were out," Phineas said, producing his phone to show Ollie again. "Our flight's been canceled."

Ollie expressed some disbelief, but upon reading the message it proved to be authentic. "Dang. Well, that's an odd development, but nothing we can't handle. Let's get you two to the front desk and see if they can get you on another flight."

"Thanks, Ollie," Phineas replied. He and Isabella fell in behind Ollie as they headed back into the resort once again. Upon reaching the front desk, though, Ollie could tell something else was up. The lady there was frantically answering phone calls. She finally looked up at him after taking care of one last call.

"What's up, Ollie," she asked quickly. "Make it brief, I've got a situation here."

"What situation," Ollie asked.

The lady sighed in aggravation as she began explaining the problem. "Some weirdo pharmacist tried to run through security at McCarran and it's caused a huge mess there. Apparently some kind of a fight broke out and caused a real ruckus. There's even some report of a midget in a turquoise jumpsuit and fedora assisting in the capture of the wacko guy. Anyway, TSA has all but shut the place down. A few flights are still being allowed to land, but there's nothing taking off at all."

"But I've got to get these two kids home," Ollie said insistently.

"They're not the only ones being put out here, Ollie," the lady replied, now sounding irritated. "They're gonna have to figure something else out, because there are no flights leaving Las Vegas tonight."

Ollie growled a bit as he turned back to Phineas and Isabella, who looked positively terrified now.

"I'm sorry guys," he said apologetically, "but that's apparently how it is."

"You mean…" Isabella said nervously, "we're stuck here?"

"Afraid so," Ollie told her. "I'd suggest calling your folks to let them know, and then see if you can figure out what to do after that."

Isabella was about to suggest Phineas call his mother first, but as she turned she saw he was already on the phone and talking to her.

"We're both totally fine, mom," he told her confidently. "And I already have a plan for overnight here. We'll catch the first flight home we possibly can tomorrow. I'm sure they'll have everything straightened out by then. Yeah, we'll be careful. And mom…I'm sorry things turned out like this. I know it's not my fault, but still…tell everyone to enjoy the party anyway and we'll be there as soon as we can. Give my love to Candace and Ferb too. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you, mom."

Phineas closed his phone and looked up at Ollie resolutely.

"Ollie, I need to go talk to Mr. Davis again," he said. He then turned to look at Isabella, a small smile on his face. "I have a favor to cash in on."

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Phineas and Isabella make the most of being stranded in Las Vegas with some very generous help. When it comes time to call it a day, however, one last twist of fate presents the two with a true dilemma and a major test of their relationship.


	18. Sin City of Love, Part Two

**Sin City of Love, part two**

"And that's the situation we're in, Mr. Davis," Phineas said, completing his review of his and Isabella's situation. Ollie had brought them back to Mr. Davis' office at Phineas' request, and Phineas was hoping that the longtime customer of his parents' antique shop would be able to help them somehow.

"That is quite a problem," Mr. Davis told him. "Especially since you said tomorrow is your birthday."

"Yes sir, it is a bit of a bummer," Phineas admitted.

"Ollie, are we sure there are no flights leaving McCarran," Mr. Davis asked as he walked around his desk.

"Yes sir," Ollie responded crisply. "On our way up here I checked in with all the major airlines and even some smaller charter services. TSA has the airport in full lockdown. Except for a couple incoming flights, nothing else is coming into or leaving Las Vegas for the rest of the night."

"Then I suppose there's only one other thing to be done," Mr. Davis said as he picked up his phone and pressed a button. "Hello Gina, how're we doing this afternoon down there? Good. Listen, I know we're fielding last-minute reservations because of the airport closure, but reserve a pair of our best suites for Mr. Phineas Flynn and his companion. They went to great personal trouble on my behalf, and I want them treated as VIPs. Thank you, Gina."

"Suites," Isabella repeated in disbelief, her eyes as wide as they could get. "Sir, we don't need anything so lavish…"

"It's your first time in this town, right," Mr. Davis asked, to which both Phineas and Isabella nodded. "Then we'd best make sure you leave with a good impression of our town. Ollie?"

"Yes sir," Ollie said, quickly stepping up alongside the teenage couple.

"I want these kids to get the five-star treatment. Linda Flynn has gone to great lengths to look after my hobbies. I would be remiss if I didn't return the favor to look after her son and his girlfriend."

"But sir…we don't have any other clothes with us," Phineas noted, looking over himself and Isabella. Neither of them was close to being properly dressed for any kind of fancy dinner.

"Oh I know, my boy," Mr. Davis assured her. "Ollie will take good care of you both. Isn't that right, Ollie?"

"Absolutely, Mr. Davis," Ollie replied. "Did you have anything in mind for them in particular for tonight, sir?"

Mr. Davis thought for a few moments. "Hmm…send them to Hugo's for dinner. As for the rest, you've got a better idea of what's popular with young people these days. I'm sure you can handle it."

"Understood, sir. Come on you two, let's get going."

"Thank you again, Mr. Davis," Phineas said quickly, looking back at the man as he and Isabella followed Ollie out of the office. "I really appreciate the help."

"No need to thank me, my boy," Mr. Davis replied, waving to them as they left. "You've done more than enough to earn it."

As soon as the group was gone Mr. Davis smiled impishly, picked his phone up again and re-dialed Gina at the front desk.

"Gina? It's me again. There's been a change in plans regarding those suites. Oh no, Mr. Flynn and his companion will still be staying with us. I'd just like to make some adjustments to their arrangements…"

* * *

Phineas had never been fussed over so much in his entire life, at least as far as he could remember. Ollie had entrusted Isabella to a female co-worker of his, who had quickly ushered her off for her own special treatment. He'd then taken Phineas to a salon where he'd had his hair washed and trimmed up. Now Phineas was being measured for a suit at a menswear store located in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace.

"I'm guessing you guys don't usually give teenagers this kind of treatment," Phineas said to Ollie as he stood still while the clerk continued to take measurements.

"Heh, no; no we don't," Ollie told him. "But you really have no idea how much that plate meant to Mr. Davis. He doesn't give just anyone the five-star treatment."

Phineas was about to ask another question when Ollie answered his phone. He kept the question in mind as Ollie talked to someone briefly on the other end, thanking them for their assistance before hanging up.

"Good news, we've got show tickets for you two as well," Ollie told him.

"Show tickets," Phineas repeated in surprise. "What kind of show?"

"Oh, something I think will be right up your alley. It's one of the most popular shows in town, too. Trust me on this."

Phineas shrugged as the tailor continued taking measurements. "Why not? I've already put a fair bit of trust into you as it is, despite having just met you today."

"Welcome to Vegas. We pride ourselves on knowing how to show people a good time."

"So what's this place we're going for dinner? Mr. Davis called it Hugo's?"

"Hugo's Cellar. It's one of the more famous places in Las Vegas. It's not one of the fanciest, but…well I'll let you see for yourself."

Phineas nodded and, for once, decided further conversation was not warranted. He turned his thoughts to things back home and hoped no one was worrying overly much about him. He sighed heavily; thinking about home reminded him that he didn't feel particularly good at all about not being home for his birthday. As he went through the rest of the motions of getting sized for a suit and shoes, he took comfort in knowing that he at least had Isabella with him. It was a thought that was both comforting and rather pleasing to him. There'd been a time when he wouldn't have given any deeper thought to having her around, but with their relationship as it was now it held far more significance to him.

Phineas looked himself over in a full-length mirror once his outfit for the evening had been completed a while later. A smooth, gray suit coat sat comfortably on his shoulders, matching the gray slacks he wore. Black shoes, a white buttoned shirt and a red and black striped necktie rounded it out. Ollie nodded approvingly as he looked in the mirror with him.

"You clean up pretty well," he told Phineas. "You wanna head back and wait for your girlfriend now?"

"Yeah, I'm not much for shopping if it's not either tech-related or spare parts," Phineas replied. Ollie nodded with a scoff and led him out of the store after thanking the staff on hand. As they walked past several other stores, one in particular did manage to catch Phineas' eye.

"Actually," Phineas said, stopping in front of the store, "can we stop in here real quick?"

Ollie looked back and noted which shop it was. He didn't even bother suppressing his laughter as he walked back over to Phineas. "You sure you should bother? The stuff in there isn't exactly cheap."

Phineas nodded back to him. "I've kind of been saving up for a while for something, and my mom gave me some extra money for helping with the delivery. I think I'll be fine."

Ollie nodded, impressed that this was something Phineas had given some forethought. "Alright, then, it's your show."

Another fifteen minutes later, the two emerged from the store with Phineas bearing a small, light blue bag. They headed back to the lobby of Mr. Davis' hotel and waited there for Isabella's return.

"D'you think she'll like it," Phineas asked, suddenly feeling unsure about his purchase.

"I've never seen a woman disappointed with anything that came from that store," Ollie replied. "My guess is she'll love it."

Phineas simply nodded his thanks as Ollie took a seat on his left.

"You've got it pretty bad for this girl, don't you," Ollie asked, nudging the boy with his elbow.

"Kinda, yeah," Phineas replied a bit absently.

"How long you been going out?"

"A year tomorrow. We got together on my birthday last year. We'd been friends for a long time before that, though."

Ollie nodded in approval. "Best way to do it if you ask me. That's how my wife and I were before we got together."

"Well, it's gonna be a while before I get married. We're really trying to take our time."

"Nothing wrong with that. Just don't be too patient. When the opportune moment arises, don't be afraid to act."

"Carpe diem," Phineas said. He happened to say it in tandem with Ollie saying the exact same phrase. Both of them laughed. "My brother and I live by that phrase."

"They're good words to live by," Ollie said, happening to glance over Phineas' shoulder as he looked at him. "And speaking of which, I think it's time to seize the evening."

Phineas looked to his right as he stood and couldn't believe his eyes. Her black dress came down to her knees and hugged her bust perfectly while flowing over her waist and legs. Black open-toe heels adorned her feet and she held a black leather wallet purse in both hands. As she neared him, Phineas detected a scent of jasmine coming from her, either from a perfume or whatever they'd washed her hair with. Whichever it was didn't matter to him; he found it incredibly pleasant. Much to his relief, he also noticed that save a pair of simple sparkling stud earrings, she didn't have any jewelry on.

For her part, Isabella found his appearance in his suit just as appealing. She smiled as he cleared his throat and held up the small light blue bag, which bore the name of the store he'd made his purchase from: Tiffany's. Her jaw went slightly slack as he offered it to her.

"I've been meaning to get you a proper pendant for some time," he told her. "You know, something that didn't look like it was made with stuff from a hardware store."

"You know I still love that pendant anyway," she reminded him, remembering the hex nut pendant he'd given her several years ago during the Age Swapper incident.

"All the same, I think you'll like this one too."

Isabella took the bag, reached carefully inside, and lifted the pendant out. She gasped, dropping the bag but holding the pendant by its chain with her right hand as her left flew to cover her mouth. It was the silver Elsa Peretti open heart pendant she had shown him before Christmas the previous year. She struggled to not simply break down sobbing at the beautiful and incredibly extravagant gift.

"I'd wanted to get it for you for Christmas," Phineas told her, "but I just couldn't get the money together in time. I hope you still like it."

As her answer, Isabella took the pendant into both of her hands, undid the clasp, and put it around her neck. After fastening the clasp, she adjusted it slightly and let it hang, glinting in the light. She took his hands in hers and squeezed them slightly, smiling warmly at him.

"You are far too good to me, you know that," she said, still fighting her emotions.

"All things considering, I don't think I've been good enough to you," he replied. He looked over at Ollie, who stood a respectful distance away from them. "I think we're ready to go whenever."

"This is officially your guys' show now," Ollie told them. "I'm charged with taking you where you want to go and making sure you get there when you want to be there."

Phineas offered his right arm to Isabella, who gladly took it, and then nodded to Ollie. Ollie smiled at the two and led the way out of the hotel and to his limo. After making sure they were inside and comfortable, he drove off to begin their evening in Las Vegas.

* * *

Neither Phineas nor Isabella could remember a time recently when either of them had felt so energized. They came out of the theater located in The Venetian still picking bits of tissue paper off of each other.

"That…" Phineas said with dramatic pause, "was the coolest show I have **ever** seen. PVC tubing as a percussion instrument? Why didn't Ferb or I ever think of that?"

"Do you think you'll try it at home sometime," Isabella asked, unable to help but smile at him. "If so, you've got to let me know. I'd want in on it too."

Phineas smiled brilliantly at her, his eyes positively shining with all the possibilities that were coming to him. "I think I'll have to consider that an official request, then. It's definitely on."

"Awesome! And in case you couldn't tell, I'm a fan of that group now too."

"How can anyone not be a fan of them? That show had it all! Music, action, comedy, drama…"

"A piano open and set on its side so they could bash its strings with a giant hammer."

"I know! How cool was that?"

As Phineas continued going on and on about the show they had just seen, Isabella quietly took his arm once again and looked at the single rose she was still carrying. As part of their dinner at Hugo's Cellar, Phineas had been given the rose to give to her as soon as they'd arrived. He had presented it to her with a bit of a dramatic flair, but immediately after had told her that though he knew roses were the standard romantic flower he'd always thought orchids suited her better. Considering she'd told him before how orchids were her favorite flower, the romantic sentiment behind the comment had not been lost on her.

"You two look like you've had a fun evening," Ollie said as they approached the limo once again.

"Yes; yes we have," Isabella said, hugging Phineas' arm more tightly. Phineas just blushed and nodded his agreement with the sentiment.

Ollie smiled and opened the limo door for them. "Good to hear. Let's get you guys back to the hotel. You've both got to be exhausted at this point."

As Ollie pulled the limo into the busy nighttime streets of Las Vegas, he lowered the privacy window behind him just enough to check on the couple he was transporting. They simply sat hand in hand, lightly chatting and smiling at each other. He'd seen a lot of different kinds of couples come through the city and had been made to drive for some he'd not been particularly fond of, but there was something about these two that felt incredibly genuine to him despite their being so young. He put the window back up and hit the intercom button to speak to them.

"Hey, would you two like to make a small detour," he asked.

"Where to," Phineas asked.

"To see something that no one should leave Las Vegas without seeing," Ollie replied.

"Why not," Isabella said. "It's not like we're in a hurry to get anywhere right now."

Not long after, the limo pulled up to a stop and Ollie quickly let the two out in front of a massive resort that was seated almost in the middle of the strip. The name of the resort stood atop its main building, lit up for all to see: Bellagio.

"Go stand over by the rail there," Ollie told them. "The show'll be starting any minute."

"Another show," Phineas asked curiously.

Ollie nodded to him. "Trust me; this is not to be missed."

Phineas and Isabella stood by the rail and waited for whatever show Ollie was talking about. Isabella shivered slightly as the night air of the desert was already turning out to be much colder than she'd thought it would be. She felt Phineas put an arm around her shoulder and she instinctively leaned into him with a contented sigh. Just as she was getting comfortable, however, strains of a familiar song struck up in the air. As the melody of Claude Debussy's Claire de Lune began to play, the fountains of The Bellagio came to life, firing backlit spouts of water in patterns to match the music.

Phineas and Isabella marveled in the display, watching in amazement as spout after spout of water burst into the air as the music filled the air. Phineas turned to say something to her and found himself entranced not by the show, but by the beautiful young woman by his side. For once, Isabella was so captivated by the sights before her she didn't immediately notice his gaze. Seeing the joy in her face, combined with their memories of the evening, made Phineas' heart swell in his chest. When Isabella finally did look at him, she saw a look in his eyes unlike anything she'd ever seen from him before. She smiled and touched his cheek gently, which seemed to rouse him from whatever thoughts he'd been lost in. He withheld his thoughts for the moment and simply hugged her a little more closely to him as they resumed watching the show.

From back by the limo, Ollie had seen the entire exchange and was left with a warmed heart and a grin on his face. The fountains of The Bellagio never disappointed, but even their spectacle paled in comparison to seeing such a perfect pair as the two kids watching it.

* * *

After thanking Ollie once again for all his help, Phineas was feeling remarkably relaxed despite having been stranded in Las Vegas for the day. He made his way over to the front desk with a smile on his face while Isabella waited for him.

"Ah, Mr. Flynn," the woman at the front desk said, recognizing him as he approached. "Mr. Davis called down earlier and gave me the details of your situation. We're all set for you, sir."

"Uh, thanks," Phineas said awkwardly, not used at all to being called "mister". "Are our rooms ready?"

The woman frowned slightly at him. "Unfortunately, due to our booking because of the airport closure we could only afford to give you one room."

Phineas felt his stomach suddenly twist into a knot. "O-o-one…room?"

"Will that be a problem, sir?"

"Uh…n-no! Of course not. No problem at all."

"Very good, sir. Here is your key card, then. Please enjoy your stay and have a good night, Mr. Flynn."

Phineas took the card and nodded to the lady before walking back to Isabella, who immediately saw the somewhat panicked look on his face.

"Something wrong," she asked, looking at the card in his hands. "Why'd they only give you one key?"

"We only have one room," Phineas told her somewhat grimly.

Isabella's face almost instantly flashed red. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well…I'm sure it's no big deal. I mean, it's bound to be a big room. Besides, I'll bet it's got two beds anyway."

Phineas breathed a sigh of relief at the thought. "Oh yeah. Of course. Duh. What was I thinking? That's obviously what they did. C'mon, let's go turn in."

Two elevator rides and ten minutes of walking later, they came to the room. Phineas unlocked the door and let Isabella in before stepping inside himself. To say the room was lavish simply didn't do it justice. The main room was vast and sported multiple chairs and sofas, two TVs, and a breathtaking view of the Las Vegas strip. As Phineas took it all in, Isabella popped her head out of a door that led to the bathroom.

"I've never seen a bathroom like this," she said in amazement. "I could practically swim laps in the bathtub in here, it's so big!"

"And it looks like they've realized we can't sleep in fancy clothes too," Phineas said, spotting two sets of pajamas on the coffee table. They were silk with long sleeved buttoned shirts and pants. One set was red, and the other green. Right alongside the pajamas were the clothes they'd arrived in Las Vegas wearing, cleaned and neatly folded.

"They even cleaned our normal clothes too," he mentioned. "I guess they've thought of everything."

Isabella nodded, but then looked around the room in confusion. "So where are our beds, then? I don't see any beds here."

"Must be in another part of the suite. Let's try over there."

Phineas pointed to a pair of double doors at the other end of the room that looked promising. He walked over to them, opened them, and had the same nervous feeling he'd had when told they only had one room return.

The bedroom, which was indeed just on the other side of the doors, contained only one king-sized bed.

"Well," Phineas said, voice breaking as he struggled with his nerves. "I guess I know where I'm sleeping tonight."

"What do you mean," Isabella asked, stepping up behind him.

"There's plenty of comfy sofas in the main room here. I'm sure I can-"

Isabella spun him around and glared at him. "If you think for one second I'm gonna let you sleep on some uncomfortable couch you've got another thing coming, mister. Especially considering tomorrow is your birthday."

"Well I'm not letting you do that either," Phineas told her, frowning at the thought. "I couldn't live with myself if you slept on some couch while I slept in such a huge bed."

Isabella chewed her lower lip as she tried to think of a way around the issue. As she deliberated, Phineas walked towards the phone.

"What're you doing," she asked.

"Calling room service," Phineas said as he picked up the receiver. "Maybe they can get us a rollaway bed or something."

"Phineas, don't. There are probably families and other people here who need that kind of thing far more than we do. Besides, given how late it is now they probably don't have any more available anyway."

Phineas sighed in frustration as he put the phone back down. "Well how else are we gonna handle this? Neither of us is gonna let the other sleep on the couch. We can't get another room at this point. And we can't get another bed up here. So what do you suggest? We both sleep on the floor?"

"Don't be silly," Isabella said as she walked over to one side of the massive bed. "There's only one option: we sleep together in the bed."

Phineas just about lost his mind at the proposition. "WHAT?"

"Phineas, it's just sleep. Okay? This bed is huge, after all. I'm sure we can both manage to keep to our respective sides of the bed."

Every fiber of Phineas' being was desperately trying to come up with another alternative, but given the late hour and the limited resources on hand he simply wasn't capable of coming up with a reasonable answer. He exhaled heavily and hung his head in defeat as he finally accepted the truth. He and Isabella would, indeed, have to sleep together.

"I don't know how much actual sleep either of us is gonna get," he said as he headed towards the bathroom. "Do you mind if I use the bathroom and get ready first?"

"Go right ahead," Isabella told him with a nod. "I'll just chill out here meanwhile."

Phineas wandered over to the coffee table and grabbed the green set of pajamas before disappearing into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, after a hot shower and doing his usual nightly routine, he emerged dressed in the pajamas with his suit clothes folded up in his arms. He put them on one of the chairs in the room and then wandered back to the bedroom. At this point, Isabella took her turn, taking the red set of pajamas and heading into the bathroom herself.

Phineas turned down the right side of the bed and lay down on his left side, facing his edge of the bed. Just as Isabella had noted, the bed was ridiculously large. He slowly convinced himself that he could easily keep to a small portion of the bed. As he tried to relax, he heard the shower in the bathroom start up once again and any concept of relaxation fled his mind.

'Cool your jets, man,' he thought to himself. 'Nothing is gonna happen tonight. You're just gonna go to sleep, wake up tomorrow, get some breakfast and head home. Just get your mind off of the fact that your incredibly gorgeous girlfriend is taking a shower in a room not ten feet away and is going to be sleeping not but a few feet away from you tonight. Yeah, that's all.'

Phineas grunted as he sat back up in bed wrestling with his head to try and erase the images of Isabella in the shower that were racing through his mind. For once, he cursed his imagination and wished it would take at least one night off. The prospect of sleep was even less likely to him now.

It was almost a full half hour before Isabella emerged from the bathroom dressed in her pajamas. She quietly made her way over to the left side of the bed, turned it down, and lay down on her right side so she was facing her side of the bed. Phineas was also lying down at this point as well, facing away from her. She took a deep, calming breath, turned off the last lights in the room, and did her best to settle herself in the darkness.

Fifteen minutes passed in total darkness and silence, but Isabella was still wide awake. She stayed motionless and quiet, trying to discern if Phineas was asleep or not. All she could tell is that he hadn't moved since she'd come to bed, nor had he said anything. Curiosity began to eat away at her, but she remained silent as she desperately tried to clear her mind.

"You're not asleep yet either, are you," she heard him ask clear as day.

"Nope," she replied dejectedly.

"Like I said earlier, I don't know how much sleep we're gonna get tonight given the circumstances."

"We should at least just relax and try to rest a bit."

"I've been trying to do that for about an hour now. My brain, much as I usually love it, won't shut down."

Isabella stifled a giggle. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd curse your own mind."

Phineas laughed sardonically at his situation. "Well to be honest, it's not all because of this situation."

"Oh?"

Isabella could tell by the movement of the mattress that Phineas had sat up, so she did likewise and looked over at him.

"This summer has been pretty amazing so far," he said, turning to face her, "but today…this was one of the most memorable days I've ever had; especially this evening."

"I had a wonderful time as well, Phineas," Isabella replied. She could feel her face flush as she thanked him, but given the darkness knew she didn't have to bother trying to hide it.

"It wasn't just the dinner and show for me, though. It was being with you and seeing you how you looked tonight. I know I've told you before how I feel about you now, Isabella, but tonight…tonight I felt like I saw you in even yet another light. I can't describe it very well, but I felt like I just wanted to hold you and keep you there with me forever. That's why this whole sleeping arrangement stuff tonight was so hard for me.

"I know you're afraid of…you know…this sort of thing. I mean, I don't know about you but I've sure thought about it a lot. Well, not a lot a lot, but…y'know, I am a guy after all. Still, I don't want to push you about it. We're still really young and all and we probably shouldn't even be thinking about it. There's so much that could go wrong and…"

Phineas suddenly became aware of the scent of jasmine nearby as he rambled and realized Isabella was now sitting right next to him, looking at him intently. His eyes caught hers despite the darkness and he felt her hand touch his face hesitantly, as if she wanted to make sure of where he was. His heart felt like it was going to burst forth from his chest it was pounding so hard.

"You don't have to hold back," she told him quietly as she leaned towards him. "Not anymore. Because I don't want to hold back anymore either."

The next few minutes were a blur to them both. Isabella kissed him and pushed him back down onto the bed before straddling him. They kissed each other passionately as their hands explored each other's bodies. She quickly undid the buttons to his shirt and pulled it open enough that she could touch his bare chest. Then she felt him do the same with her shirt, though more slowly and, from the shakiness of his hands, nervously. Once her shirt was finally open, she gasped and reveled in the feeling when she felt his hands on her chest. They kept at it for a long time, alternating between deep kisses and feeling each other's bodies up and down. Finally, Isabella began to reach down for the top of his pants. Just as she was about to begin trying to pull them down, she felt his hand grab her wrist and stop her.

"Wait, stop," he said, gasping for breath as he broke off their kissing.

"Phineas, please…" she begged, grabbing him by his shoulders. "I want this so bad for us…I can hardly help myself anymore."

"I know. It's just…"

"Don't worry about protection. I've been on the pill for a long time now. We'll be fine. Just…please…"

Phineas shook his head at her. "It's not about that, though admittedly that is good to know. I don't want it to be like this for us, though."

Isabella propped herself up on her arms and looked down at him. "Like what?"

"We're only here like this now out of pure coincidence," he told her, reaching up to stroke her hair gently. "It just feels…I don't know, like we're only doing it because we _can_. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want this with you, Isabella. I just don't want it to be because we were put into a situation like this where we were led to do it through pure temptation."

"Phineas…"

"I love you, Isabella. And I do want this for us too someday. Maybe it'll even happen yet this summer, I really don't know. But I respect you too much to do something like this with you simply because the circumstances are convenient for it."

Phineas felt something drip onto his bare chest and realized Isabella was crying a little. She wiped the tears from her face and smiled back at him again.

"It sounds like you've given this a lot of thought," she said.

"Of course I have. Why wouldn't I? I care about you too much to treat something like this so inconsiderately."

"I appreciate it, Phineas. I truly and deeply do. I just love you so much that anymore it feels like simply telling you or kissing you isn't enough to express how I feel."

"All you have to do is be with me, Izzie. That alone will tell me, more than anything, how you continue to feel about me."

"Thank you, Phin. Thank you so much."

Isabella lay back down atop him, kissing him much more gently this time. She gently slid off to his right side, but stayed right up against him.

"All the same," she said, placing a hand on his chest, "just remember that whenever you do want to do it, and the circumstances are right, I will certainly be ready for it."

"I understand," he replied, sliding his right arm around her. He noticed the feeling of her bare chest pressing against his and suddenly felt a bit conscious of it. "Um, are you sure you don't want to re-do the buttons on your shirt?"

"Why would I? This feels really nice to me. What about you?"

"Oh it's nice, don't get me wrong. I just don't know if we're going to be able to resist temptation all night long if we stay like this."

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"Izzie…"

Isabella giggled as she pulled herself up closer to him, her face just inches from his. "Well if you're worried about that, maybe we should make out some more and see if that tires us out enough to fall asleep."

"You're one ornery _chica_, you know?"

"_Ay, mi amor…Espanol…_"

"Oh crap."

The two resumed their make out session, though it was a bit more subdued than their earlier one. As they kissed and caressed each other, they did eventually find sleep calling them and soon enough were fast asleep, still holding each other closely in the middle of the vast bed.

* * *

The first thing Phineas registered as he awoke was that the sun was much higher in the sky than it usually was when he woke up. Sunlight poured into the room, bathing everything in warmth and light. The second thing he realized was that Isabella was still using him as a body pillow, and that she was still very soundly asleep. He carefully and slowly pried himself away from her as he slid out of the bed. Fortunately, she didn't even stir as he left.

He adjusted his shirt a bit but didn't bother buttoning it as he walked silently through the room. Looking down through the window, he could see the Las Vegas strip was already bustling once again. Or perhaps was still bustling, as he conjectured. It was one of those cities that supposedly never slept, after all.

He grabbed his pile of regular clothes, headed to the bathroom, and just ten minutes later was dressed and ready for the day once again. As he set the pajamas back on the table, he heard Isabella stirring and walked over to check on her. She stretched, hopped out of bed, and walked over to meet him. Phineas nervously tried to avert his eyes as her pajama top was still wide open from the events of the previous night.

"Morning," she said somewhat groggily. "Something wrong?"

"Well, uh," he stammered, looking up at the ceiling now. "It's just you're still…uh…you know…"

Isabella laughed a bit and pulled his face back down for a brief kiss. "One, after last night I really don't have any issues with you looking at or touching me when it's just us, sweetie. And two, it is your birthday after all. So consider this a bit of a present."

He half-smiled as he briefly looked her over. "You're not making this business of resisting temptation very easy."

"You don't _have_ to resist it, you know," she said suggestively as she stepped past to get her clothes.

"Anything worth doing is worth doing right; not quickly or, in this case, when it's convenient."

"Aww, you're no fun at all."

"Yeah, you didn't seem to think that was the case last night."

Both of them laughed for a moment but then stopped and simultaneously facepalmed.

"Wow, we really just had that exchange," Phineas said in disbelief.

"I thought it only ever happened in bad romance movies and TV shows," Isabella added.

"We will never speak of it outside this room."

"Agreed. I'm gonna freshen up and then we should get some breakfast and get ready to head home."

"Right. I'll call and check in with mom to let her know we're okay."

As Isabella disappeared into the bathroom, Phineas shook his head and did his level best to get his mind off of his girlfriend and the events of the prior night before calling his mother. Something told him that despite it being his birthday there were some things that if his mother found out about he would still get busted for.

Later the same morning, after breakfast and a final farewell to Mr. Davis, Phineas and Isabella exited Ollie's limousine one last time as he dropped them off at McCarran International Airport. Ollie handed them each a backpack that contained their formal clothes from their night on the town yesterday.

"You two take care of each other," he told them. "And if you're ever in Vegas again, look us up. I'm sure Mr. Davis will be happy to help you guys out any time. He's still pretty much over the moon about that plate."

"I have a feeling this certainly won't be our last trip here," Phineas said, looking at Isabella who nodded vigorously. "I just hope my mom didn't flip out too much about us staying here overnight; especially when she finds out we had to share a room."

"What're you talking about, Phineas? I mean, you both had your own rooms last night, and I saw you both into them after driving you back from your evening out."

"But Ollie, that's not what-" Isabella began to say.

"Mr. Davis even called to tell your mothers as much himself yesterday," Ollie told them, interrupting Isabella.

"But…that's not the truth," Phineas said worriedly.

"Guys, trust me on this," he said, putting his hands on Phineas' and Isabella's shoulders. "It's like we say: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

"Thanks Ollie," Phineas said, shaking his hand. "For everything."

Ollie smiled and waved to them both as he headed back to the driver's door on the limo. "My pleasure. Have a safe flight, you two."

After bidding him goodbye, Phineas and Isabella headed into the airport to catch their flight home. Once seated at their terminal, Isabella felt Phineas take her hand and she smiled over at him.

"So when do you think we'll come back here," she asked.

"Oh probably not for a while," Phineas replied. "I think we'd want to be old enough that we can enjoy everything this town has to offer. Well…almost everything."

Isabella laughed at the inference. "I know what you meant, Phin."

He laughed a little and smiled at her. "Things are never gonna be the same between us after yesterday, are they?"

"No they won't," she said, leaning against him. "But it'll be different in a very good way. Don't you agree?"

Phineas put his arm around her and got comfortable as they waited for the arrival of the plan that would ferry them home and to his birthday party. The answer to Isabella's question was plainly evident, but as he'd come to understand some things needed to be said regardless of how obvious they may seem.

"Yes," he told her, squeezing her shoulder lightly. "Yes I do."

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** The time has finally come for the recital Holly and Katie have been practicing for all summer, but the gang finds out that there's far more at stake for the two of them than simply having a good performance.


	19. Danville's Got Talent

**Danville's Got Talent**

As had been the case all summer long since its opening, The Fourth Dimension was alive with activity as kids, teens, and even some adults enjoyed its many diversions. Games were being played, mini golf putts were being made, go-kart races were being won, and laser tag games raged on and on. It was all but unfathomable that anyone could not have immense amounts of fun while in attendance at the entertainment complex.

Unfathomable though it was, however, two girls sat at a table in the food court across from each other with looks of total distress on their faces. Holly and Katie sat in silence, each lost in their own concerns over what awaited them not even twenty-four hours in the future.

"Guys, c'mon already," Adyson said, standing with arms akimbo next to their table. "How can you possibly **not** be having fun here?"

"Easily," Holly replied dejectedly.

"What she said," Katie added, echoing the sentiment.

"You guys haven't even _tried_ to get your minds off of tomorrow since we got here," Adyson said, leaning towards them both. "Which, might I remind you, is the whole reason we brought you here in the first place!"

"Addie's right," Gretchen said, stepping up alongside Adyson. "Which, might I add, is something I thought I might never actually say."

"Hey!" Adyson said resentfully.

"I call 'em like I see 'em," Gretchen told her with a shrug. "Regardless, incessantly fretting over your impending performances is only going to increase the likelihood of insomnia tonight for both of you. Not to mention-"

Adyson grasped her head in mock agony. "Ow. Brain overloading with big words. Break it down, will you please G?"

Gretchen looked scathingly up at Adyson before looking back at Holly and Katie. "You're going to worry yourselves sick at this rate."

"Much better," Adyson said, patting Gretchen on the head. Gretchen swatted her hand away and left the table to go rejoin Milly in the arcade.

"We didn't ask to come here, you know," Katie told her.

"We could still be practicing instead of wasting time here," Holly added.

"You two have been practicing all freakin' summer," Adyson told them. "With the exception of Katie getting her driver's license, I can't think of much else that either of you has done that could be considered fun!"

"Not without good reason," Holly retorted. "Do you have any idea how important tomorrow is to either of us?"

"Well…frankly, no I don't," Adyson admitted, which elicited a simultaneous pair of groans from the two performers seated in front of her.

"Give it a rest, Addie," Isabella told her. "Why don't you go hit some mini-golf with Ginger? She was looking for someone to play a round with."

"Alright," Adyson said begrudgingly. "But I'm not done with either of you!"

"Thanks Izzie," Katie said once Adyson was on her way. "I know she means well, but she's not helping."

"Well, what _would_ help?" Isabella asked. "Adyson and Gretchen are right; you two really do need to try and relax some. You've been working at your performances all summer. I'm sure you'll do great."

"That's just it," Holly told her, picking her head up off of the table. "We need to be more than just great. We both have a lot riding on tomorrow."

"I don't understand," Isabella said, looking back and forth between both girls. "It's just a recital, right? It's nothing neither of you hasn't done before, I know that for a fact."

"This isn't just another recital for us, Izzie," Katie said. "Our futures hinge on how well we perform."

"We both want to be professional performers," Holly said. "In my case, my parents aren't too thrilled at the prospect of paying to send me to a college that specializes in the performing arts; especially when they're skeptical of what kind of living I could make as a musician. The thing is…I don't care if I don't end up rich someday. That's not what I want out of life. I want to make music. I want to play for people and bring some joy into their lives. I want my performance tomorrow to show my parents once and for all that this is what I'm meant to do. This is what I love. This is what I want to do with my life."

"And what about you, Katie," Isabella asked, looking back over at the blonde girl.

"There's a really prestigious dance academy known as the Bolshoi Academy," Katie told her. "They have a summer ballet program that is second to none, but they're incredibly exclusive. Only the best dancers make it in. My Russian grandmother was a world-renown ballerina and her recommendation could very well get me into the Bolshoi program. She'll be at the recital tomorrow night with my parents. She's incredibly strict about dance, though. I've never actually gotten a compliment from her on any of my performances that she's seen. I really have to prove myself to her if I want a chance at going to Bolshoi next summer."

"So in a nutshell, both of our futures rest on our performances tomorrow," Holly said.

"Yeah, no pressure or anything," Katie added.

"Wow, guys…why didn't you tell us about all of this sooner?" Isabella asked.

"With what time?" Holly asked, throwing her arms into the air. "We've been so focused on preparing and practicing that we've barely had time for anything else."

"Yeah, Adyson was kinda right when she commented on how little else we've done this summer," Katie said, folding her arms on the table and resting her head on them. "And to be honest, even if we told you sooner, what good would it have done?"

"We could've tried to make time to be there for you guys at least," Isabella protested. "You've had to go all this time with no moral support…it's not right!"

"It is what it is now," Holly said. "Look, we appreciate the sentiment, Izzie, not to mention you guys going to the trouble of bringing us out here. But until we get past tomorrow, I don't think either Katie or I will be in much of a mood for fun."

Isabella frowned as she watched her two friends continue to mope in front of her. "Well, after it's all over we'll try to do something **really** fun. You guys can even pick what we do. Okay?"

"Thanks, Izzie," Katie told her. "We'll keep it in mind. C'mon, Holly, let's get going."

"Yeah, no reason everyone has to have a miserable time because of us," Holly added. "We'll see you all later, Izzie."

Isabella rose with the two and waved as they made their way out of the entertainment complex. As soon as they were gone, she went about collecting up the rest of her friends from their various activities and convening back in the parking lot with them by the spot where they'd all parked their bikes.

"So what's the deal, Izzie?" Adyson asked, folding her arms. "There's still a lot of day left. Why're we cutting this short?"

"We need to get the boys together," Isabella told her. "We've got to all be there for Holly and Katie tomorrow."

"Are you sure having us in the crowd wouldn't just make them even more tense and nervous?" Ginger asked.

Isabella shook her head. "I don't think it's possible for them to be any more tense and nervous than they already are."

"I'm with Izzie," Grechen said. "We've got to be there to support them, and I know the guys would want to be there as well."

"Buford's not much for music or dancing," Milly said pensively, though she brightened up just a moment later. "But I'm sure I could make it up to him later."

"What about you, Addie?" Isabella asked, turning back to her as she spoke. "I know you and Django don't have much time left together, but…"

"Please," Adyson said, stopping her right there. "He's been asking me on every date about when the recital was coming. This is what I get for falling for an artist."

"Well, I really can't argue with the majority ruling here," Ginger said. "Besides, I'm sure BJ will want to support Holly and Katie as well anyway."

"Okay then, girls, you have your assignments," Isabella told them as she turned to face all four, her expression becoming hardened and stern all of a sudden. All four girls snapped to attention and saluted her crisply. "I'll check in with each of you this evening to make sure we're on track for tomorrow. Remember, this is for Holly and Katie here. If you encounter any resistance from your respective boyfriend, use whatever tactics necessary to ensure compliance. Within reason, of course. Understood?"

"Aye aye, captain," the four girls cried out in response.

Isabella nodded approvingly to them. "Dismissed!"

At Isabella's word, all five of them rushed to their bikes, unlocked them from their parking spots near the entrance, and rode off to their respective boyfriends' homes to plead their cases. They were bound and determined to remind their two nerve-wracked comrades that support would always be there for them, whether they asked for it or not.

* * *

The location had changed, but Holly and Katie's demeanor had remained the same. Instead of moping around at a table at The Fourth Dimension, now they were moping around at a table at Mr. Slushy Dawg. They had decided that food was necessary despite their mood and stopped at the fast food joint for a bite to eat. Though the food had been tasty and their hunger had been sated, it had done little to settle their nerves.

"What're we gonna do, Katie?" Holly lamented. "At this rate I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight, much less actually perform tomorrow."

"I hear you, believe me I do," Katie replied, rolling her head back to look up at the restaurant's ceiling. "We've got to try and calm down about this somewhat, though. Our future as performers rests on how well we do tomorrow."

"Yeah, see, every time we come back to that point it somehow makes me feel even worse."

"Sorry. For what it's worth, it does the same to me."

"I know. It's okay, really. I just…I wish I knew how professional performers did it. How they get over these kind of nerves."

"You don't, really," a distinctly male voice said from beside their table. Holly and Katie both looked over to see Jeremy grabbing a chair and sitting backwards on it next to their table.

"You two are Gretchen's friends, right?" he asked, getting nods from both girls in response. "Thought I recognized you both when you came in. So…performance woes?"

"More like dread at this point," Holly told him.

"Our recital is tomorrow, but we both have a lot riding on how well we do," Katie added.

"I'm guessing the whole old standby of 'pretend the audience is naked' wouldn't help, then," Jeremy noted.

"Nope," Holly told him. "Neither has 'pretend there is no audience'."

"What did you mean before?" Katie asked. "When you said 'You don't, really' before you sat down?"

"Just that the nerves never go away," he told her. "After playing with my band for so many years I can tell you, the kind of thing you two are feeling never goes away. You'll always worry that you might miss a note, or forget a word, or stumble a little. And sometimes messing up on stage can't be helped. What's really important to remember, though, is it's worse to miss an opportunity than it is to miss a note or a step. You can recover from a mistake on stage and still have a fantastic show, but you can't recover from missing an opportunity to show your stuff."

Holly and Katie traded looks with each other as they both took in Jeremy's words. It gave them both a moment of respite from their worries. It was during that moment that Jeremy saw their expressions chance, as if they had both suddenly come to the same epiphany.

"And it looks like you both seem to understand now," he said, standing back up.

"Understand what," Holly asked, a bit confused.

"What's really important here," he told her. "You can give a technically flawless performance, but if all you do is play or dance perfectly you'll never get your point across. So rather than focusing on giving a perfect performance…"

"…focus on giving a performance that is uniquely ours," Katie said, finishing Jeremy's sentence how she thought he might. An approving nod from Jeremy told her that her conclusion was spot on. Holly found herself smiling at the idea as well.

"I think you'll both be fine from here on out," Jeremy told them. "I wish I could come, but Coltrane's insisting that my bachelor party is tomorrow."

"That's fine," Holly told him. "Thanks for the advice, though."

Jeremy nodded to her. "Anything for a fellow performer. Break a leg tomorrow, both of you."

Holly and Katie bid him goodbye as he disappeared back into the employee area of the restaurant. They then looked back at each other, smiling for what felt like the first time in a long time.

"You still nervous?" Katie asked Holly.

"Yeah, some," Holly admitted. "But it's different than it was before. Maybe I'm more anxious now instead."

"I think I feel the same. I'm still concerned about giving a good performance, but it's like he said. I want to give a performance that's more than just good. I want to give a performance that I can say is mine."

"Me too. I wanna knock them dead tomorrow, but I want them to know when they leave that they didn't just see a good performance; they saw **my** performance."

The two girls got up from the table and clasped hands, smiling at each other as a look of confidence crossed each of their faces. Tomorrow was no longer something to be feared. Instead it represented the opportunity of a lifetime, and rather than fearing it they now both resolved to seize it and make it their own.

* * *

The majority of the audience in the auditorium consisted of the parents and family members of the various performers. Such being the case, the veritable gang of teenagers taking up two rows on the left side of the auditorium couldn't help but feel a bit out of place; some more than others.

"This is seriously not my kind of scene," Buford muttered as he fidgeted in his seat and fought with the collar of the polo shirt Milly had made him wear. "And I feel like I'm wearin' a penguin suit."

"I'd hate to think what you'd feel like if you ever had to wear an _actual_ suit, then," Baljeet commented.

Buford shook his head vigorously at the Indian teen. "Ain't never gonna happen, dude."

"You think _you're_ uncomfortable," Django commented. "I can't **remember** the last time I wore full-length pants. These things are driving me crazy."

"Suck it up and deal, baby," Adyson told him. "You'll survive looking like a respectable human being for one afternoon."

Django rolled his head back as he blew a raspberry. "I'm just glad neither Vic nor Martin is here to see me like this."

There was the sudden sound of a camera shutter and Django saw Adyson checking the photo of him she'd just taken on her phone. She smiled sweetly as she patted his cheek.

"Keep complaining and they will anyway," she told him.

"Dude, you're so whipped," Buford chided, elbowing Django lightly.

"You're one to talk," Django muttered back.

"So did you talk to Holly or Katie any more since yesterday?" Phineas asked Isabella while Django and Buford continued to trade verbal barbs next to them.

"I tried to," Isabella said, frowning at her phone. "But neither of them picked up. I just hope they're not too worked up by now."

"If they weren't before, I'll bet they will be now," Gretchen added, pointing across the way. The group looked and spotted not only Holly's parents taking their seats but also Katie's family as well, who were accompanied by a short, elderly woman wearing a scarlet kerchief over her head. No doubt it was Katie's Russian grandmother whom she'd mentioned to Isabella the previous day.

"I wish we could be backstage for them," Ginger said despondently.

"We'll catch them as soon as they come out," Phineas said resolutely, addressing the whole group. "And we're out here for them, even if they don't see us or know that we're here."

The group had no sooner agreed with Phineas' sentiment than the house lights flashed to indicate the recital was about to begin. The teens, as well as everyone else in the auditorium, quickly took their seats and began to hush as the performances began.

Backstage, Holly and Katie sat next to each other, both fighting last minute nerves as they watched their fellow performers head out one act after another for their performances.

"You're up first of us two, right?" Katie asked Holly, receiving only a nod as her answer. "You'll be fantastic, Holly. I know it. I've heard you and your music is gorgeous."

"Thanks Katie," Holly told her without looking up at her. "But I'm not nervous about performing anymore. Well…I'm not _as_ nervous about it as I was before, rather."

"So what are you nervous about, then?"

"I'm nervous about what I'll say to my folks afterwards. I still have to plead my case to them no matter how good I do out there."

Holly felt Katie's hand on her shoulder and looked up at her.

"Tell them through your performance," Katie told her. "Because no words either of us could come up with could possibly express how much this means to us."

Holly nodded, giving Katie a quick hug before standing up and straightening out her dress.

"Break a leg out there," Katie told her.

"Yeah, you too," Holly replied.

Holly collected her instrument from along the wall of the backstage area and took her spot in line waiting for her moment of truth to come. As she entered the backstage area, she handed her instrument to a stage hand who quickly whisked it off to set it up for her. She was left standing in the darkened backstage area, clutching her sheet music and silently going over her music in her head one last time. The time for practice was over; the time to seize her future was now.

* * *

"Now coming on stage," the announcer said over the auditorium's speakers. "Holly Fenton; who will be performing the Cello Suite number one prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach."

Holly walked out onto the stage slowly with her bow in her right hand and her sheet music in her left. Her simple, light green dress flowed around her as she made her way to center stage where her cello had been set up for her along with a music stand and a chair. She resisted the urge to check her hair again, which she'd had straightened for the performance, and curtseyed to the audience before taking her seat, placing her music on the stand and positioning her cello on her shoulder.

Tension permeated the air around her as she made sure everything was set just so. She adjusted the music stand, made sure her music was easy to see, checked her instrument once more, and then looked out into the auditorium. Due to the lighting, it was nearly impossible for her to see the crowd. She decided that was more of a blessing than unfortunate and, after one last deep breath, she put her bow to the strings of her cello and began.

The music immediately began to crescendo, filling the auditorium with the cello's deep, mellow sounds. Holly lost herself in the music as the familiarity of the piece came to her as soon as she'd begun playing. She swayed slightly, her expression changing as she poured her heart into the music. In that moment, nothing else existed for her. There was no nervousness, no tension, no audience. There was only her and the sound of her music. It was the most liberating sensation she had ever known, and she relished it.

Her fingers danced along the neck of the cello as she continued to play, pouring every feeling that the piece of music she'd selected had ever evoked in her into her performance. As she finished the piece in a commanding fashion she held her bow out in front of her for a moment, savoring the last remnants of music as they echoed throughout the auditorium. Moments later she only vaguely became aware of the rousing applause that had struck up for her. Looking out over the crowd she suddenly realized they were all on their feet, clapping and cheering. She carefully put her cello down and stood up, curtseying once again before quickly fleeing the stage with her bow and sheet music. As she left the stage and was summarily mobbed by her fellow performers congratulating her, she never saw the faces of her parents in the crowd. They had been the first to their feet, and they were fiercely trying to wipe tears from their faces; tears they'd shed because of the sheer beauty of their daughter's music.

* * *

As a troupe of hip hop dancers quickly made their way offstage and past her, Katie fought with her nerves one last time. Hers was one of the last performances of the recital, and while much of the recital had been a hit the pressure was on her now to help make sure the show ended on a good note. To make matters worse, while standing just offstage she had spotted her parents and grandmother in the audience.

"Up next with her original dance to Ludwig von Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata," she heard the announcer say, "Katherine Martinov."

Suddenly there was no more time for nerves or self-doubt. Just like Holly before her, Katie had to rise to her moment. She made her way on stage dressed in her pure white dance costume with a tattered, diaphanous skirt that fell around her waist and legs. She stopped at the far front edge of the stage, sat down and collapsed herself onto her side. She closed her eyes and waited. A few stray coughs from the audience punctuated the silence, which was replaced by the familiar strains of a piano playing her chosen piece. She opened her eyes and looked upwards, stretching as if from a long sleep, and her dance began.

Her dance told a story, as most great dances do. It was a story of someone, or some entity perhaps, who unlike those who rose at dawn and thrived during the day instead awoke with the dusk and claimed the night for their own. She was joyous to experience yet another night and reveled in its cool, dark majesty. Yet, there was something solemn about her at the same time, and understandably so. Ater all, one who trades the shining brightness of day for the exotic lure of night does so at a price. Solitude was all she knew and would likely ever know, as few were willing to trade the warmth of day for the blackness of night. Yet someone had to claim the night as their own and give praise to the moon just as so many gave praise to the sun. As the music slowly drew to a close, she regretfully returned to her starting position and once again collapsed to her side. Her night was done and it was time to rest once again. The day drew near, and there was no place for her in the realm of the light.

A round of applause roused her from the ending to her dance and, after a quick curtsey to the audience after she rose to her feet again, she disappeared backstage. It was far from the ovation Holly or any of the other more modern dance acts had received, but then ballet was not to everyone's liking. Katie was nonetheless thankful that her performance was done, and though she felt confident about how she'd done she couldn't help but turn her worries now to her grandmother's reaction to it.

* * *

With the recital finally behind them, Holly and Katie made their way out of the back of the auditorium; both only hoping for a quiet evening with their respective families and to hopefully spend what little summer vacation they had left being normal teenagers with their friends. Instead, they were instantly beset by a mob comprised of all of their girlfriends as soon as they stepped outside. The former Fireside Girls all grasped the two of them in a massive group hug while the boys simply watched on from several feet away.

"Oof, guys," Katie called out as she and Holly were being crushed by a group hug. "Can't breathe. Too many all at once!"

"Sorry," Isabella said, apologizing for all of them as they backed away to form a semi-circle around the two. "But we just couldn't help ourselves. You guys were fantastic!"

"Truly," Gretchen added. "Holly, your music was simply brilliant! And Katie, you looked absolutely stunning up there while dancing."

As the other girls all echoed Isabella and Gretchen's sentiments, Holly and Katie couldn't help but look past them and see their families approaching from around the corner of the building.

"Thanks for everything, girls, but.." Holly said as she and Katie separated themselves from them. Adyson had noticed the approaching families and quickly corralled the others to give the two some space.

"Go see your families," she told them with a smile. "We'll be here when you're done. And no weaseling out of coming with us to celebrate, got it?"

Katie smirked and nodded to her longtime friend before looking back at Holly.

"Shall we get this over with," she asked her. Holly just nodded and, after a quick wave, the two girls headed over to their respective families.

Holly approached her parents a bit timidly, chewing her lip as she stood before them. "How'd you like the recital?" she asked, avoiding eye contact with them.

"It was great as always," her mother said with a smile. Her face then grew more serious. "Holly, honey…your father and I did some talking during intermission after you played."

"Y-yeah?" Holly asked, her voice shrinking as her heart began to race.

"To be honest, we're still a bit daunted at the idea of sending you to a college just to learn music," her father told her. "Not just because it's expensive, but there's no certainty that you'd ever be able to make a living being a musician, sweetheart."

Holly felt her spirits fall as she hung her head, only to feel her parents each put a hand on one of her shoulders. She looked up at them again and saw them smiling at her.

"But if this is what you really want, Holly," her father told her, glancing sidewise at her mother, "then we'll see what we can do to help you chase your dream."

Holly all but tackled her parents as she hugged them both tightly. She was reduced to only being capable of repeating "thank you" to them over and over as she rejoiced. Across the way from them, Katie finally reached her family and hugged her mother and father in turn.

"You were fantastic, Katie," her father told her.

"Absolutely amazing, dear," her mother added. "But I suspect it's not our opinion you want to hear."

"I appreciate hearing it anyway, thanks mom and dad," Katie told them with a smile. She then turned to her grandmother as she approached slowly. Her grandmother folded her hands as she looked at her, her expression as dour and scrutinizing as ever.

"Son," Katie's grandmother said in a gravelly voice with a thick Russian accent. "I speak to Katherine in Russian, okay?"

"_Yes, mama_," Katie's father replied in Russian.

Katie's grandmother nodded to her son and then turned back to her granddaughter, who prepared herself for not only her criticism but also to have to respond in Russian as well.

"_You know I am going to tell you that I am not satisfied with your performance, right Katarina?_" her grandmother asked her.

"_Yes grandmother_," Katie replied.

"_Your form is amateurish. Your poise is sloppy. Your feet are clumsy. You need much more work on everything._"

"_Yes grandmother._"

"_Frankly I am surprised that your school calls what they teach you ballet. From my point of view it is merely a bunch of pretty prancing about the stage._"

"_I know grandmother. I am so-_"

"_I suppose the only way you will ever learn properly is to attend a proper Russian ballet school._"

Katie's jaw dropped as she saw one of the rarest sights she'd ever seen: a smile slowly spreading on her grandmother's face.

"_My dear Katherine, though you need much work still I could feel the emotion you put into your dance. It moved me, dear child, like little I have seen in recent years on stage. I will speak to some people I know and see about arranging a place for you at the Bolshoi Academy next year. Only there will you, my little Katherine the Great, learn how to dance._"

Katie felt the tears fall from her eyes as her grandmother moved to hug her gently. She felt her parents' hands on her back, but the magnitude of the moment was too much for her to register them. Like Holly, she could only express her thanks to her grandmother as she sobbed in her arms.

From afar, the collected girlfriends of the two and their boyfriends watched on with smiles on their faces. They would be heading out soon enough to celebrate Holly and Katie's success, but there was no hurry at all. This moment belonged to the two performers, and none of them was about to interrupt it for anything.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Candace and Jeremy's wedding is just a couple of days away and everyone is making their final preparations for what promises to be the highlight of a summer filled with memories.

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*...rumble rumble…*


	20. The Calm Before

*BEEP* *BEEP *BEEP*

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING FOR THE WESTERN URBAN AND OUTLYING TRI-STATE AREA EFFECTIVE UNTIL EIGHT THIRTY PM.

AT SEVEN TWELVE PM, NATIONAL WEATHER DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.

THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF DANVILLE AND IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT SEVENTEEN MILES PER HOUR.

MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING.

AVOID WINDOWS.

IF IN A MOBILE HOME, A VEHICLE, OR OUTDOORS, MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

ONCE AGAIN, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING FOR THE WESTERN URBAN AND OUTLYING TRI-STATE AREA EFFECTIVE UNTIL EIGHT THIRTY PM.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*


	21. Seven Twenty Eight PM

**Seven Twenty-Eight PM**

As determined as they were to do their part to ensure Candace's wedding went exactly as she wanted it to, Phineas and Ferb couldn't help but feel like they were about to keel over from a combination of terminal boredom and hunger. What had started as a rehearsal of the wedding that Stacy - who was acting as Candace's wedding planner - had assured them would only take twenty minutes had turned into a two-hour session of nitpicking every minute detail for the ceremony. Only the occasional stare from Isabella, who stood across the way in line with Jenny, kept the brothers in line.

"I think that'll just about do it," Stacy said as she looked over the full scene again. "I would still like to run through the whole thing a couple more times, though."

"I'm gonna have to call us done for now all the same, Stace," Candace told her. "I'm pretty sure we're splitting hairs at this point. Not to mention I'd like us to get to the rehearsal dinner before the rain hits us."

"Yeah, food's sounding good right about now," Jeremy added. "I'm fairly sure I'm speaking for all the guys here. Right guys?"

"Amen to that!" both Phineas and Ferb said emphatically, earning them snickering laughter from everyone else in the wedding party.

Candace, Jeremy, and the members of their wedding party exited the church chatting amongst themselves and in high spirits until they caught a glimpse of the sky just to the west of them. Weather reports earlier in the day had mentioned a chance for strong thunderstorms, and the sky was so far showing evidence of it being more than just a chance for that prediction to come true. The clouds ranged in color from gray to dark blue and even a couple of black clouds hanging lower than the rest.

"Man, we'd really better beat feet if we're gonna outrun that," Jeremy noted. "I'll take the guys with me, Candace. You take the girls."

"Works for me," Candace replied, giving her fiancé a quick kiss. "I'll see you at the restaurant."

Phineas waved to Isabella just before they both popped into their respective cars. Once underway, he leaned forward from the backseat, poking his head between Jeremy, who was driving, and Coltrane who rode shotgun.

"We're not really gonna run through all that again before the actual wedding, are we?" he asked in concern.

"If it were up to Stacy, we'd probably still be there," Coltrane commented. "Make sure to thank your sister for calling it quits when she did."

"I'll be thankful when this bloody storm passes," Ferb said in a strained voice. He rubbed his forehead trying to will a sudden wave of pain in his skull to diminish. "I can barely stand this headache."

"You alright, man?" Jeremy asked, looking back at Ferb in his rear view mirror.

"Ferb always gets headaches when big storm fronts come through," Phineas said on his brother's behalf. He turned to look at Ferb, who was all but curling up into a fetal position. "Dude, you sure you're gonna be okay? I can't remember the last time you had a headache this bad."

Ferb responded by nodding as he simply looked out the window of Jeremy's car to try and get his mind off of the pain. Phineas quickly took the hint and kept quiet so as to not further aggravate his brother's pain. He passed the time by simply watching Danville pass by his window, noting the time on the clock in Jeremy's car as they went. It was just past seven 'o clock, which explained why he was so ravenously hungry. He hoped some food would improve Ferb's headache, but knew that when his brother got like this is often affected his appetite.

Ten minutes later both cars pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. The wedding party entered and was shown to the room that Candace's parents had reserved for the occasion. As dinner got underway in earnest, however, Ferb only felt worse and worse; eventually resting his head on the table in front of him.

"Don't get any ideas about using the silverware to bore a hole into your skull to relieve the pressure," Phineas told him jokingly. Ferb didn't even attempt to retort he felt so bad.

A low rumble of thunder became audible from outside, announcing the impending arrival of the storm. Phineas relaxed a bit at its sound, knowing that Ferb would be back to his regular self in short order. Dinner arrived, conversation was made, and the evening progressed pleasantly. Ferb forced himself to try and eat even a little bread, but despite the sound of rain outside his headache persisted. As his father stood up to deliver a speech, Ferb excused himself from the table and walked towards the front of the restaurant in the hopes that seeing the storm would convince his headache to go away.

No sooner did he reach the front of the restaurant, though, than his headache suddenly just disappeared. He blinked a few times and shook his head, at first unable to believe that it had gone away so quickly. As he thought to celebrate his freedom from the pain, however, a new sound began coming from outside. He looked out the window and saw not rain falling from the sky, but hail, and in large amounts. Ferb was no meteorologist, but he knew a sudden change in atmospheric pressure accompanied by massive hail was not a good sign. He rushed back to the party room where people were laughing raucously at one of his father's jokes.

"Everyone, get away from the windows!" he called out. "Quickly!"

"What's gotten into you, Ferb?" his father asked. "Something amiss?"

"Something's about to be very amiss, father," Ferb told him insistently. "Trust me on this. Please, get away from the windows everyone."

As the other people in the room looked skeptical about the British teen's warning, the lights in the restaurant flickered and then went out. They all then became aware of the howling winds that were continuing to pick up speed outside.

"Everyone!" Isabella shouted at the top of her lungs. "Get under the tables and hunker down! Now!"

The last thing Phineas did before ducking under the table with his girlfriend was to look at the wall clock that hung across the way from him. The time read seven twenty-eight PM. He then crouched under the table and waited as the sounds of the most out-of-control storm he had ever heard began to rage outside. His imagination ran wild as he cowered under the table, wondering what the world outside looked like at that moment.

* * *

An eerie calm hung in the seemingly dead air outside. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky anymore, but there was also no wind whatosoever. As relieving as it was to see the storm gone, the deafening silence around was absolutely unsettling. Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella rode in the backseat of the station wagon back home watching the various scenes of destruction pass by. Suburban Danville indeed looked the part of a city that had been hit by a tornado. All manner of debris was strewn across lawns and in the street. Lawrence was driving for once with Linda in the passenger seat. The state of the roads had made driving home far too daunting for Linda's already frayed nerves.

The tornado hadn't lasted long, but it hadn't needed to in order to wreak total havoc on the city. Power was out everywhere. Many homes had received light damage of some sort, ranging from blown out windows to missing pieces of siding and roofing. A few homes they passed had been all but ripped apart from having the misfortune of being either in the tornado's path or even just too close to it. Fortunately, the closer they got to home the lighter the damage seemed to be; however, that was still somehow not all that calming of a thought to anyone in the car.

The first thing the family plus Isabella noticed as they pulled into their driveway was that from the front the house looked almost untouched except for some random bits of debris lying in the front yard. Phineas was first to jump out of the car and quickly ran to the backyard. Ferb and Isabella followed right behind. They happened upon Phineas almost immediately as he stood frozen just inside the gate to the backyard. They were about to ask what had made him stop when they both looked up and gasped. It was suddenly, and vividly, very clear what had made Phineas stop in his tracks.

The tree - the grand tree that graced the backyard and under which so many afternoons of fun and adventure had been spent - had been ripped from the ground and now rested against the backside of the house. Specifically, it had fallen and crashed through the window of Candace's room. Linda and Lawrence joined the three teens in the backyard moments later, only for Linda to succumb to her shock and end up sobbing into her husband's shoulder as he tried to comfort her.

"It's…gone," Phineas said, his voice small and his tone one of utter disbelief.

"I can't believe it," Ferb added, also shocked at the scene.

"I'm so sorry guys," Isabella told them both. "I know what that tree meant to you both."

"How is everything?" Candace asked as she came up behind the group. She had followed behind her mother from the restaurant and had just parked her car behind the family station wagon.

Seeing the uprooted tree alone was shocking enough for Candace, but it was when she saw where it had crashed that she truly panicked. Ignoring her father's call to not enter the house, she dashed inside and up to her room. Her door had been blown off of its hinges, and the interior was a complete loss. Tree leaves and branches poured into the room from the wrecked window. All of her belongings were soaked with rainwater and a fair few things had been shredded by the winds and tree branches.

Most crushing of all, however, was her dress and the bridesmaid dresses. She and Stacy had set them all up dress stands instead of hanging them in the closet to keep them from being wrinkled. They were now strewn all over the room, ripped apart and completely soaked. They were completely ruined. Candace sank to her knees by the remnants of her wedding dress which lay on the floor. The dress she had wanted Jeremy to see her in, the very dress her brother had told her she looked like an angel in, was a tattered mess now. She picked it up and brought it to her face, sobbing uncontrollably into it.

Back outside, Lawrence had gotten Linda to have a seat in a lawn chair and then carefully made his way into the house to retrieve Candace. Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella walked towards the tree, an utterly shocked expression still on the brothers' faces. Isabella struggled to find something to say to either of them, but there simply weren't words that would suffice. While Isabella waffled on what to say, Phineas stepped up underneath the tree and gave it a bit of a push.

"What're you doing?" Ferb asked him directly.

"What's it look like?" Phineas asked without looking back at his brother. "I'm trying to get our tree back into the ground."

"Phin, it's impossible."

"No it isn't," Phineas said, straining as he began pushing harder on the felled tree. "Most of the roots are still intact. If we can get it back into the ground it might still survive."

Ferb shook his head at his brother. "Even if that actually made sense, how would you propose we get it off of the house? There's no electricity so we can't use any tools. And there's no way we could acquire any machinery right now to do the job. I'm fairly certain there are rescue and recovery efforts that need that sort of thing more right now."

"Then we'll just push it back into place. C'mon and help me already."

"Phin, this is lunacy. It would take everyone on this block to pull that tree back upright."

Phineas nodded and began walking towards the backyard gate. "Alright, then, let's go get everyone."

"Phineas, can you hear yourself right now?" Ferb asked, stepping in his way. "This is no time for this sort of nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" Phineas repeated, looking truly insulted. "You think this is nonsense? You think everything we've done together under this tree for the past ten years has been nonsense? You're just gonna give up on it like that?"

"I didn't say that. You're putting words in my mouth. You need to stop and think clearly for a moment here."

"I don't have time to think! We have to act if we're going to save our tree. Now either help me get some help or get the hell out of my way, Ferb."

"You think we're the only ones suffering right now, Phineas? We got off easy compared to the people who don't even have a home anymore! The tree is dead, Phineas! Get over it!"

"IT'S NOT JUST A TREE, DAMN IT!" Phineas yelled at his brother.

"I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST A SODDING TREE!" Ferb yelled right back.

Both brothers glared at each other, breathing heavily as they tried to manage their emotions. Isabella had merely kept herself out of the argument, knowing that she had no place interfering with it. After several moments, she became aware that both brothers were now crying as they looked at each other.

"I know it's not just a tree, Phin," Ferb said, his voice filled with sorrow. "I know…I know…"

Phineas nodded back at him as he choked a bit on his tears. "And now it's gone. Forever. And we can't get it back."

"I know," Ferb said, also breaking down into sobs. "I know…"

The two brothers hugged each other as their emotions overcame them. Isabella couldn't help but find her own emotions overcoming her at the sight of them both in such sorrow, but was stopped from hugging them both as their mother joined them instead, hugging both boys fiercely. Isabella stood her ground, though she continued to cry quietly. She saw Linda extend a hand to her, beckoning her to join them, and she did so without protest. The entire scene would be the last one ever played out under the watch of the once great tree of the Flynn-Fletcher home.

* * *

The last rays of daylight quickly faded into a night quieter and darker than any that most on Maple Drive could ever recall. Power was still out for the vast majority of the city, and while a little cleanup had already begun the progress made didn't even scratch the surface of what was left to accomplish.

The Flynn-Fletcher house was, by all rights, still in good shape. The only true casualties had been the tree and Candace's room. Still, Lawrence felt it best if they spent the night outdoors instead of trying to sleep in the house. He and the boys quickly set to pitching their tents in the backyard and the family now sat around a small propane lantern set up in the middle of their impromptu campsite.

Isabella, having been back to her home to check on her mother, was with them as well sitting hand-in-hand with Phineas. Her home had been incredibly fortunate with no damage to it whatsoever, but she decided to keep that information to herself in light of what her boyfriend and his brother were going through. Phineas had assured her that he and Ferb were now alright despite their earlier breakdown, but she had nonetheless reminded him that she was there for him to talk to if he needed.

The sound of a car pulling up roused them all from their silence. They all looked up to see Jeremy running towards the campground. Candace rose and hugged him as he reached her. She was still very much a red-eyed emotional mess from finding the ruined dresses.

"I'm so sorry, Candace," Jeremy told her softly. "But don't blame yourself, okay? No one could've seen this coming."

"I know," Candace replied, her voice somewhat hoarse from all her crying. "I just can't get over it right now. I won't have anything proper to wear when I marry you now."

"About that," Jeremy said, stepping back for a moment. "I've been by the church, Candace. And…well…"

"Please don't tell me…" Candace said, bringing her hands to her face in horror.

"It's gone, hon," Jeremy said, forcing himself to tell her the truth. "It must've been in the direct line of the tornado. There's almost nothing left of it."

Candace hadn't thought she could cry any harder than she had after discovering the ruined dresses, but faced with the fact that her wedding was going to be postponed until who-knew-when drove her to a whole new level of anguish. She positively wailed as Jeremy and her parents tried to comfort her in vain. Phineas simply couldn't bear seeing his sister in such a state and quickly got up and walked away from the campsite towards the street, followed immediately by Isabella and Ferb. They both stepped up to him where he stood at the edge of the driveway.

"Candace will be alright, Phin," Isabella told him, taking his hand in hers again. "The wedding will happen…just not the way we all thought it would. Or when, for that matter."

"This is all wrong," Phineas said, shaking his head. "How could one random event turn our whole summer upside down and inside out?"

"Natural disasters have a way of doing that," Ferb said sagely.

"I guess," Phineas admitted. He then began to smile a little as a thought occurred to him. "But they also say times like these bring out the best in people."

"They do say that too, yes," Ferb said.

"So why can't it bring out the best in us?" Phineas asked as he turned to look at Ferb and Isabella.

"Phin, what're you talking about?" Isabella asked, completely mystified by his words.

"We can't save the tree at this point," Phineas said. "It's too far gone now. But maybe there's something here we can save."

"And that would be what?" Ferb asked.

"Candace's wedding," Phineas replied simply.

"You're still being delirious, Phineas," Ferb told him with an exasperated sigh. "It's not possible. The wedding is supposed to be the day after tomorrow. We have no power to enable us to do anything and there's no telling when it'll be restored."

"We have no power _currently_," Phineas said, correcting his brother. "That can be rectified."

"How?" Isabella asked. "It's not like you can just walk up to a power plant and ask them to turn on the power just for us."

"We don't have to," Phineas told her, a small smile on his face. "We can make our own power. Right, Ferb?"

Ferb puzzled for a moment trying to think of what his brother meant until it dawned on him. "The cold fusion reactor!"

"Wait, you guys actually built it?" Isabella asked, stunned that the thing that she thought had all along been just an inside joke was for real.

"It's sitting basically completed but offline in a sub-level far underneath the house," Phineas told her. "If we could get to it and activate it, we could provide power to the entire city for about a day before the fuel supply runs out."

"That might give the electric company crews enough time to fix the city's power issues properly and restore full power before the reactor runs out," Ferb added. "Not to mention it would aid the rescue and cleanup efforts immensely. The only problem is the reactor is sitting five hundred feet underground. There is an emergency stairwell, but it will be pitch black in the reactor room. It won't be easy to get things going."

"Plus there's another problem," Phineas said. "Even if we got down there and turned it on, we'd need to stay down there to monitor the system and make sure it didn't, y'know, malfunction somehow and end up wiping the Tri-State Area off the face of the planet."

"Yes, that would be problematic," Ferb noted. "So how would we manage to get the reactor online, make sure it stays stable, **and** fix up everything for Candace's wedding?"

"The same way we've done so many other things, bro," Phineas told him with a grin. "We'll get by with a little help from our friends. Assuming, of course, they _can_ help us."

"Well you've got me," Isabella said, touching Phineas' shoulder. "You know that, right?"

"More than anything, I know that," Phineas told her, nodding to her with a smile. "We need to round up as many of the others as we can."

"Cell phone use is probably not a good idea," Ferb said, making a face. "They likely need lines open for true emergencies."

"Looks like we're getting everyone together the old fashioned way, then," Phineas said, heading to the garage for his bike. Ferb did likewise, and Isabella fetched her bike from her garage as well. Phineas handed them both a flashlight, keeping one for himself. All three of them switched the flashlights on to make riding in the dark at all possible.

"I'll round up as many of the girls as I can," Isabella told them. "Let's all meet up at Ginger's house. They have a generator and I'm sure it'll be running."

"Excellent," Phineas said. He turned to his brother, then. "Ferb, you go check in with Buford, Baljeet, and Django."

"What're you going to do, then?" Ferb asked, curious what his brother would be doing.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," was all Phineas said before he rode off into the night.

Ferb and Isabella merely shrugged at each other and after a mutual wish of good luck both rode off into the darkness hoping to round up whatever help they could for what promised to be one of the most challenging endeavors they had ever undertaken.

* * *

It came as little surprise to anyone that the Hirano home was the most prepared for the possibility of a massive power outage. Ginger had long ago convinced her mother to invest in a generator, and it was now proving to be a godsend. Ferb and Isabella had brought everyone they'd gotten back to Ginger's home since it actually had light. They were only waiting for Phineas at this point, but no one had any idea where he had gone.

As Isabella watched out the front window for Phineas again, Ferb looked over who they'd managed to assemble. Isabella had gotten Gretchen, Adyson, Katie, and of course Ginger and Stacy since they were using their home. Ferb had brought Baljeet, Django, and Jenny with him.

"So where are Buford and Milly?" Adyson asked, breaking the silence in the room.

"They're helping with rescue and aid efforts for those who the storm hit the worst," Ferb told her. "I thought it best to leave them to their chosen task as it's fairly more important than what we're undertaking. At least, in the greater scheme of things it's more important."

"What about Holly?" Ginger asked.

"Her parents wouldn't let her out," Isabella said, frowning. "Holly wanted to come, but her parents insist it's too dangerous out. I don't agree with them, but it's not my decision to make."

"Well if this is going to be most of the group for this, shouldn't we get started figuring out what we're going to do?" Stacy asked, folding her arms as she leaned against a nearby wall. "It's getting late, and I don't know about the rest of you but I'm physically and emotionally wiped out right now."

"We have to wait for Phineas," Ferb told her, shaking his head. "This is his idea. Plus, I have no idea what he's of a mind to have us actually do."

"Is this even something we should be doing right now?" Gretchen asked, looking up at her boyfriend. "I don't mean any offense, Ferb. Candace is important to all of us to some degree. But shouldn't we be trying to help the people who actually need it right now like Buford and Milly?"

"If that's what you want to do, love, I won't stop you," Ferb told her. "Nor will I begrudge you it. But I stand with my brother on this. Candace's wedding is something we can salvage and we've all looked forward to it far too much to give up on it."

Gretchen contemplated Ferb's words for a few moments and then hugged him tightly. "If that's your decision, then I know mine. I'm doing whatever you're doing, no matter what that might be."

"Thanks Gretchen," Phineas said from the doorway. "I knew we could count on you, as well as the rest of you."

"Where've you been?" Isabella asked, getting up to greet her boyfriend.

"Getting the last bit of help we were going to need," Phineas said, stepping aside to let his companion into the house.

"Hi-de-ho, folks!" Irving said cheerily, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses.

"You're kidding, right?" Baljeet asked, looking disbelievingly at Phineas. "Phineas, are we really this desperate? No offense, Irving."

"Eh, I'm used to it." Irving said with a shrug.

"'Jeet, we need him," Phineas told him. "He's as capable at science as any of us and he's willing to help."

"What good is science knowhow going to do us here?" Adyson asked. "I thought we were trying to fix up a wedding?"

"We can't start fixing anything without power," Ferb told her. "We can restore power to the city for a day using the reactor underneath our house, but it requires at least two people to run and maintain it. Phineas and I need to focus our energy on other things, so we need two other people capable of handling the reactor."

"Let me guess," Baljeet said, sounding unenthused. "That would be me and Emperor Nerdenstein, right?"

"You and Irving should be able to handle things down there just fine," Phineas said as he approached the Indian teen. "I'm sorry to ask you to basically sit this one out, Baljeet, but on the other hand you've got the most important job of any of us here. Without power there's nothing we can do."

"To be honest, I would almost rather be stuck down there with Buford," Baljeet said. "However, I'll do whatever you need me to do Phineas."

Phineas smiled and nodded at him. "Thanks, 'Jeet. I officially owe you one."

"Oh believe me, I'll collect on it someday," Baljeet assured him as he walked over to Irving.

"Looks like the NerdSmashers are back in the biz," Irving said, putting his fist up for a fist bump.

"Don't touch me," Baljeet told him flatly.

"Now that we've got that set, what're the rest of your plans Phineas?" Katie asked. "I gotta say I'm a little excited to see what kind of wedding you have in mind for Candace."

"The wedding is already planned out," Phineas told her. "And I don't want to create a wedding that Candace doesn't want. So we're not going to innovate here; we're going to replicate. We're going to re-make everything for the wedding that was lost."

"Are you serious, dude?" Django asked, looking puzzled. "Innovation is what you do. Why settle for just making all this stuff again?"

"Because it's what Candace would want," Phineas told him. "Back at the beginning of summer, Candace told me and Ferb in no uncertain terms that she didn't want 'the most awesome wedding known to man' that we were offering to throw for her. She wants **her** wedding. And that's what I aim to give her; nothing more or less."

"If that's what you want, I can respect that," Django said, stuffing his hands into his pocket. "Just kinda sucks that we won't get to do anything original for it."

"About that," Phineas said, grinning at his artist friend. "There is one thing Candace did give us free reign on, and I'm passing that duty to you."

"Oh?" Django asked, perking up a bit. "What's that?"

"The ice sculpture," Ferb told him. "Think you can whip something up?"

Django's eyes slowly went wide as his mind immediately began racing with concepts of what to carve.

"He's down," Adyson said on his behalf.

"Alright, then, time for other assignments," Phineas said as he looked around the room. "Stacy, you remember the dresses pretty well, right?"

"Down to the last stitch and hem," Stacy replied. "Heck, I can close my eyes and still see them."

"Think you could work with Jenny and Isabella to re-create them?" Phineas asked.

"I guess, but without some kind of super sewing machine we'll never make all the dresses in time," Stacy said in concern. A telltale grin on both Phineas and Ferb's faces said it all for her. "You guys made some kind of super sewing machine, didn't you?" ske asked in an unsurprised tone.

"It's at my house," Isabella told her. "It was my birthday present from them a couple years ago."

"Then I guess we're good," Stacy said with a shrug.

"Gretchen, love," Ferb said, looking at his girlfriend. "I'm going to ask you to handle the cooking for the reception. Think you're up to the task?"

"Cooking I can handle," Gretchen replied. "Baking, however, is not my strong suit."

"I'll assist on that," Ginger added. "I did plenty of baking last school year for Baljeet's treats."

"In that case, so long as we can get a copy of what was on the menu for the reception we should be good," Gretchen said, smiling up at Ferb.

"Thank you so much," Ferb told her, smiling warmly at her.

"Adyson and Katie," Phineas said, stepping up to the two friends. "I need you both to arrange for and run supplies to everyone. Katie, you're the only one of us with a driver's license. And Adyson's got the administrative knowhow to arrange everything."

"So long as you can cover my gas costs, I'm at your disposal," Katie told him.

"You sure you want to leave the supply ordering to me, Phin?" Adyson asked. "You're usually the one who does that."

"I'm sure the next student council president of Danville High can handle the task with ease," Phineas told her.

Adyson smiled at Phineas and nodded emphatically. "I won't let you down. But all the same, any chance we could get a GPS of some kind? Just in case."

"Hey, I've learned my way around town a lot better since that trip!" Katie said defensively.

"I'm not taking any chances," Adyson told her. Katie conceded the point but pouted a little all the same.

"So that covers all of us," Jenny said, looking around the room. "But what about you and Ferb, Phineas? What're you doing to do?"

"We've got our task already," Phineas told her. "And it's not going to be an easy one."

"We'll succeed, Phin," Ferb told him confidently. "Failure is not an option."

"I guess that's that then," Phineas said, then looking at Baljeet and Irving. "When can you two get cracking on the reactor?"

"I'll make sure we're at your house by six AM tomorrow," Irving told him. "Is that early enough?"

"Plenty early," Phineas told him. "We'll be ready for you."

"For now, everyone should go home and get as much sleep as you can," Ferb told everyone else. "We've got a tremendous task ahead of us tomorrow."

"Oh, and one last thing," Phineas said before they convened for the night. "Don't let Candace know. We want to try and surprise her."

"Given her state of mind it shouldn't be hard to keep her in the dark," Stacy noted. "But we'll stay quiet about it, Phineas."

With that, the group dispersed for the night and all headed for their respective homes. The mission they'd laid out for themselves was enormous, and the fact that it was for the sake of one so close to so many of them made it all the more daunting. One common thought ran through all of their minds, though: They had worked together to do the impossible countless times before on things that, in retrospect, didn't matter all that much. Now it was time to work that magic once again for something that actually did.

* * *

**Next Episode Preview**: One day to fix everything for Candace and Jeremy's wedding. One day to get their summer back on course. Is it too much for even Phineas, Ferb and their friends to pull off?


	22. Today is Gonna Be a Great Day

**Today is Gonna Be a Great Day**

_6:37 AM_

"All outputs are connected to the city power grid," Baljeet called out after making the final connection from the reactor to the transformers.

"Fuel rods are stable and ready to go," Irving called back as he monitored things from his control panel.

"How is our pressure looking?" Baljeet asked as he ran up the catwalk to where Irving was, his flashlight pointing all around as he looked things over on his way.

"It's just a bit above normal, but we're within the safe range," Irving told him.

"Vent it if you're at all wary of it," Baljeet told him.

"Dude, it's only point zero three above the normal range," Irving said, shaking his head at him.

"Do you want to be responsible for replacing the Tri-State Area with a crater that would make the Grand Canyon look like a sidewalk crack?"

"Well no, but-"

"Then vent the pressure."

"Alright! Sheesh."

Irving entered a few commands and, moments later, the pressure went back down into the normal range. Baljeet looked over another panel for some final checks before he moved to stand over a keyhole located in the middle of his console. Irving stood over a similar keyhole in his. They both produced identical keys from their pockets and inserted them into the keyholes.

"We have to do this at the same time for the reactor to come online properly," Baljeet told Irving. "Do not hesitate. I'll count to three, and then we turn."

"Wait, are we turning on three or after three?" Irving asked, suddenly confused.

"There's a difference?" Baljeet asked back.

"Of course there is! If you say 'three' and I turn but you don't, we'll throw the whole system off!"

"Irving…"

"I mean seriously, after getting on my case about the pressure now you're going to let such an important detail slide without describing it to the letter?"

"Irving?"

"The fate of Candace's wedding, not to mention the entire Tri-State Area rests in our hands! We can't afford to screw up!"

"IRVING!"

"WHAT?"

"TURN NOW!"

On Baljeet's command, they both turned their keys in perfect unison. The reactor emitted a low hum as it came to life and in mere moments the reactor room's lights flashed to life, momentarily blinding the two teenage boys. Once his eyes adjusted, Irving checked his control panel again.

"All values are in the green," he told Baljeet with a giant grin on his face. "We're online and supplying power to the grid!"

"All that's left to us is to keep an eye on things, then," Baljeet said as he sat down unceremoniously in one of the available chairs. "The rest is up to Phineas, Ferb and the gang."

Irving took a seat as well, folding his hands behind his head. "Yup. Our work is done. Nothing left to do but just bask in the glow of a job well done. Well, that and the glow provided by a reactor powered by nuclear fusion on a level that should be impossible according to all known laws of physics."

Both of them fell silent as they began their watch over the reactor's various settings and values. Only the hum of the reactor filled the room.

"So…" Irving said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. "You gonna go see the new Space Adventure movie next week?"

"Our hometown was almost leveled by an F2 tornado yesterday and all you can think about is Space Adventure?" Baljeet asked incredulously.

"Well…yeah," Irving said rather nonchalantly. "So? Are you going?"

Baljeet forced himself to resist an incredibly strong urge to break into a rant at Irving for being so fantastically insensitive towards what had just happened to them not even twelve hours ago. He calmed himself by thinking that perhaps there was something poignant about what Irving had said and that perhaps it was better to simply move on with life instead of dwelling on what had occurred. He then wiped that idea out of his head since, after all, this was Irving he was considering and profundity was not among his better qualities. Still, talking about Space Adventure was better than what was sure to become a maddening silence between them.

"I already have tickets to the midnight showing lined up," Baljeet admitted, which elicited an excited squeal from Irving. It was immediately followed by a rapid-fire series of speculations from Irving about the contents of the movie.

Baljeet sighed and immediately regretted having answered him at all. Perhaps maddening silence would have indeed been preferable after all.

* * *

_7:25 AM_

Stacy shook her head vigorously as she tried to keep herself from yawning. A second cup of coffee was definitely going to be in order if she was going to be awake at what was an ungodly hour for her. She and Jenny had arrived just minutes earlier as Isabella's house and, after being promised by Vivian that coffee would definitely be on the way, the two had proceeded to Isabella's room where they found the Mexican-Jewish teen moving some of her furniture around.

"Kind of an odd time to be rearranging your room, isn't it?" Stacy asked as she stepped into the room.

"Oh, I'm just making room for everything we're going to need," Isabella replied as she pushed her desk up to the wall. "Especially gotta make sure we have room for the sewing machine."

"I really don't mean to be a downer," Jenny said, sounding uncharacteristically skeptical, "but unless this sewing machine Phineas and Ferb made for you can read minds, I don't see how we're going to pull off perfectly re-creating our bridesmaid dresses. Nevermind Candace's wedding dress."

Isabella merely smirked at Jenny as she finished moving her bed out of the way. Under her bed was a small green button, which she immediately stepped on. A large section of her floor quickly opened, allowing the super sewing machine to rise dramatically into view. The machine was shaped somewhat like a doorway, in the middle of which a dress stand was located. Several sewing needles pointed down at the dress stand, all threaded and ready to go. The most intriguing part was what looked like an array of electrodes that hung from one side of the machine.

"Ladies, say hello to the Dream Dress Designer," Isabella told them proudly. "All you have to do is provide the fabric you want to use and, after placing the electrodes on your head, imagine what you want your dress to look like. The machine will then read your thoughts and create the dress exactly how you want it to look."

"Holy moly," Stacy said, positively enchanted by the machine. "I'll bet you never have to pay for clothes ever again with this bad boy!"

"Unfortunately it only makes dresses," Isabella said after shaking her head at Stacy. "Really fancy ones at that. Much as I do enjoy dressing up, I couldn't stand doing it all the time."

"It's still an amazing machine," Jenny said in amazement. "And with Stacy's freaky knowledge of all the dresses, we should be able to get them all back together in no time."

"Are you sure you can handle this, Stacy?" Isabella asked as Stacy began inspecting the electrodes. "Jenny and I probably remember our dresses well enough. I wouldn't want to put you out here."

Stacy remained silent for a moment before looking back at both Jenny and Isabella. "I'll be honest here…I kind of feel like this is my fault."

"Stacy, don't be silly," Jenny told her. "Unless you believe in Chaos Theory there's no way you could be responsible for a tornado."

Stacy passed a hand over her face as Jenny had, once again, completely no concept of what she was talking about.

"I'm talking about the dresses, Jen," Stacy replied after curbing her irritation. "I'm the one who insisted to Candace that we set them up in her room on those stands. If it weren't for me and my stupid need to act like a fashionista all the damn time, our dresses and Candace's would've been hanging up safely in her closet and would probably still be perfectly fine."

"Stacy, there's still no way you could've known the tornado was going to happen," Isabella told her. "And even if you did, there was no way you could've known the tree was going to crash into Candace's room. There's no good reason for you to blame yourself for what happened."

"You're probably right," Stacy told the teenage girl. "But somehow, that still doesn't absolve me in my own mind. So let me do this, girls. Besides, I really do know the dresses inside and out."

"What're we supposed to do, then?" Isabella asked.

"Well when your dresses are finished you'll need to try them on so we can see if any more adjustments need to be made," Stacy told her as she began placing the electrodes on her head. "But until then, just…just hang around. And give me some support. This is gonna be hard."

"With your knowledge of sewing and the dresses, I doubt that," Isabella told her confidently. Isabella felt Jenny's hand on her shoulder and looked back at her to see she was shaking her head.

"That's not what she meant," Jenny told her as she stepped over to her longtime friend. "We'll be here for you, Stacy. Every step of the way."

Stacy nodded her thanks to Jenny and, after a long and deep breath, she closed her eyes and began to first envision Candace's wedding dress. As she did, the Dream Dress Designer sprang to life and began producing white, silken fabric that it hung over the dress stand and began sewing details into with astounding detail. With the sound of the machine as her background noise, all that was left for Stacy to do was to focus on her best friend's dress and try. Now was not the time for guilt. She would do her part to restore her best friend's wedding, no matter what it took.

* * *

_10:01 AM_

Django pushed the last giant block of ice into place as the delivery truck pulled away. He took several steps back, looking over his project area. Phineas and Ferb had gotten him set up at an empty warehouse that had at least a decent cooling system so the ice wouldn't melt too much. He also was given the phone number of a delivery service that had instructions to arrive at his location with a refrigerated truck as soon as he called to inform them of his completion. A grand total of eight blocks of ice stood before him, each one about six feet tall.

"You sure you don't need anything else, baby?" Adyson asked as she leaned against Katie's car, which was idling.

"Ideally I'd love to have you on hand for this as well,"Django told her with a half-smile. "But I know you're needed elsewhere."

"I know how you feel, but the guys are counting on me to keep things moving," Adyson told him. "I've got to go see about some more food supplies for Gretchen and Ginger to make use of next."

Django walked over to her, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, and hugged her. "Go," he told her. "I'll see you later."

"Do you know what you're going to carve?" Adyson asked as she ducked into Katie's car.

"I think so," Django said as he turned to a table of tools that sat near the ice. It also had several old photographs of both Candace and Jeremy strewn across it. "Wish me luck, eh?"

"You won't need luck," Adyson told him, blowing a kiss to him. "You're a singularly talented artist."

"Thanks, but that's not what I wanted the luck for."

"Oh? What for, then?"

"So I don't accidentally cut off any of my limbs."

Before Adyson could ask what he meant, Django grabbed the pullstring of a chainsaw that sat on the table and yanked on it hard, bringing the menacing device to life. He revved it a few times as he stalked his way over towards the ice.

"Okay, I'm not gonna lie," Adyson said to Katie, though with her eyes fixed on Django. "That was ridiculously sexy just now. Katie, get us out of here before I go jump my boyfriend."

"Only you would somehow find a chainsaw-wielding guy sexy," Katie commented as she sped off, leaving the sound of Django beginning to carve the ice behind them.

"Only because it's Django," Adyson replied, settling down in her seat again.

"It sucks that this had to happen now of all times," Katie said while keeping her eyes on the road. "You guys don't have much time left, right?"

"Assuming power gets restored normally to the entire city in short order, Django and Jenny leave for home the day after tomorrow," Adyson said while dialing a phone number on her cell phone.

"What? Then what're you doing riding around with me, Addie? You should be with him!"

Adyson only shushed her friend as she put her phone to her ear. Katie bit her lip and swore to herself. She hated when Adyson did that to avoid talking about something right away. After several minutes, most of which was filled by Adyson berating the person on the other end of the line about the price of chicken thighs versus the price of chicken breasts, Adyson looked at Katie once again.

"Phin asked me to do this for him, Katie," Adyson told her. "He's been a friend of mine for a long time, longer than anyone as a matter of fact. He, Ferb and Candace mean a lot to me and I will not let them down."

"Even if it means giving up what little time you and Django have left?" Katie asked in a tone full of disbelief at what she was hearing.

"Yes!" Adyson shot back immediately. "I love Django; don't make any mistake about that. But we'll have other chances to be together. This is our one opportunity to give Candace something she has worked towards and yearned for for a really long time, and I will not just stand by and watch while everyone else is working themselves to the bone to make it happen."

"Okay! Sheesh!" Katie said, now eager to get Adyson off of her case. "I was just curious was all. We don't have a whole lot more left to arrange and deliver at this point, I could've taken care of it on my own."

"I'd rather see this through to the end personally," Adyson said as she calmed down. "Sorry for snapping."

"It's alright. We're all a bit on edge after yesterday."

"That's true. Has anyone heard from Milly since yesterday?"

Katie shook her head as they made a left turn. "I'm hesitant to call her for fear that she's busy and the last thing she needs right now is an interruption. I do know there's a soup kitchen she usually volunteers at, though. She's likely there helping with meals for people displaced from their homes by the storm."

"Maybe we can swing by there after we're done getting everything arranged and delivered. At least to check in on her and let her know we're thinking about her."

"I like that," Katie said, smiling at her best friend as they came to a stop at an intersection. "And I'm sure Milly would appreciate the visit too."

With their plan for the rest of the day resolved, the two switched topics and discussed what was left to line up and get delivered before they could call their portion of the project complete.

* * *

_12:18 PM_

With all of the other recovery efforts going on around the city, little attention was being paid to the all-but-demolished church where Candace's wedding was to take place. A line of yellow caution tape bordered the site, but beyond that nothing else had been done. Since no one had been in the church at the time of its destruction, it made it a low-priority site to divert any official attention for cleanup.

To this desolate site, two figures suddenly came streaking up at a speed no normal human was able to attain. They stopped just short of the warning tape and ducked underneath it, walking more casually up to the site.

"Man, Jeremy wasn't kidding," Phineas said, surveying the damage. "It's like that tornado came down with the intent of blowing this place away. You've got the blueprints we need, right Ferb?"

Ferb merely held up the rolled up blueprints as his answer.

"Excellent," Phineas told him. "Let's go over all our gear one more time before we get started."

Both boys looked themselves over, adjusting and securing things to make sure they were ready for their task. On their feet were the latest version of their super shoes, which had allowed them to arrive so quickly. Their legs had special braces strapped to them to improve their jumping capability. At their waists were multi-pocketed tool belts with all manner of tools and gadgets. On their hands they wore one of their more recent creations: super gloves that improved their strength in a similar manner as the shoes improved their speed. Both wore goggles that included heads-up displays for them to refer to information quickly. The only point where their gear differed was that across his back, Phineas had his beloved red left-handed flange tuner, which had been given to him by Candace many years ago as a birthday present.

"All set?" Phineas asked his brother, getting a nod in response. "Alright. Let's scan that blueprint."

Both boys pushed a button on the side of their goggles, causing a laser light to shoot from the goggles to the blueprint. Moments later, a full copy of the blueprint was visible on both of their heads-up displays. Ferb quickly folded the map down to a miniscule size and stored it in a pocket of his tool belt.

"Ready to do this?" Phineas asked Ferb, again getting a nod for his response. He turned to Ferb then and held his right hand up, which Ferb immediately grasped tightly as their eyes met. Determination burned behind their gazes. They were on a mission today, and failure was unacceptable.

"For Candace," Phineas said resolutely.

"For Candace," Ferb echoed in the same manner.

Phineas and Ferb then turned to face the destroyed church. Phineas grabbed his flange tuner while Ferb picked a drill and crescent wrench from his belt. Then, in the blink of an eye, both streaked off into the rubble and began the process of rebuilding the church.

* * *

_2:50 PM_

The high-pitched beeping coming from the large crane that was backing into the driveway of the Flynn-Fletcher home roused Candace from her nap. She rolled off of the couch and shuffled to the window to see the crane moving into position in order to lift the tree off of the house.

'At least the boys aren't here to see this,' she thought to herself. 'But then…where are they? I haven't seen them all day. Not that I've been looking for them, or anyone else for that matter.'

Candace walked back to the couch where she'd been napping and grabbed her cell phone from the coffee table across from it. A quick flip open showed no calls or text messages to her at all.

'I would've thought I'd at least hear from Stacy or Jenny,' she thought as she closed the phone again. 'On the other hand, they may just be being sensitive and not wanting to bug me. I guess that'd make sense.'

Candace continued wandering around the house, passing the front picture window as she went. She paused for a moment and looked out at the street, which was mostly cleaned up thanks to a concerted effort from the entire neighborhood. The lawn was free of debris, the street was clear, the sidewalks on both sides of the road were wide open, and Stacy's car sat in the driveway of the Garcia-Shapiro home across the way.

Candace was about to walk on when she paused and looked back across the street, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't blearily seeing things that weren't actually there. There was no mistaking it; that was Stacy's car for certain. Candace quickly produced her phone again and speed dialed Stacy's phone.

"Hey kiddo, how're you feeling?" Stacy asked as she picked up Candace call.

"Still pretty wiped," Candace said as she exited her house and began walking across the street. "I'd take another nap if I could, but I think I'm topped off on sleep for a while."

"Well try to take it easy anyway, okay? You've had a rough time over the past twenty-four hours."

"Think you and Jenny will be by later just to hang out?"

"I'll see what we can do, but I'm kinda busy. I'm helping Coltrane and his folks clean up their yard from the storm."

"Right, gotcha. Hey, by the way, do you still have that CD I lent you a few days ago?"

"I think so, but it's in my car."

"Ah, okay. I see it. I can get it myself."

"Okay that's grea-…oh crap."

Candace waited patiently at the front door of Isabella's house as she heard quick footsteps approaching from inside. Stacy cracked the door open just enough to see outside and saw Candace just outside. Both of them still had their cell phones on and held up to their ears.

"Hey there!" Stacy said, feigning excitement at seeing her best friend.

"Stace, what're you up to?" Candace asked, skipping past all pleasantries and getting to the heart of the matter.

"Why would you think I'm up to anything?" Stacy asked innocently.

"Because you're still talking to me on your cell phone while looking at me from behind Isabella's front door."

"Well I do have a lot of rollover minutes, so it's not like this is costing me anything."

"Are you gonna let me inside?"

"Strictly speaking I can't since it's not my house. Hold on, let me conference Isabella in on our call."

Stacy hit a few buttons on her phone and, moments later, Isabella picked up.

"What's up, Stacy?" Isabella asked. "Oh, and hi Candace."

"Yeah, hi," Candace said, sounding even less amused now.

"Candace wants to know if she can come in," Stacy told Isabella.

"Candace, shouldn't you be taking it easy?" Isabella asked. "You did have a rough day yesterday."

"It's a little hard to relax knowing that my best friend decided to hang out with my brother's girlfriend today instead of coming to try and console me," Candace replied.

"I thought you wanted to be left alone today?" Stacy asked Candace.

"I did, but you know how it is," Candace told her. "You know, you say you wanna be alone but you really don't and then your friends come over and try to cheer you up anyway."

"Oh yeah, I totally get that," Stacy said, nodding in understanding. "Don't you, Isabella?"

"Oh yeah," Isabella added. "I get that from Gretchen all the time. That girl gets way too moody, especially when she goes without seeing Ferb for a couple days. Candace, could you tell Ferb he really needs to tell her to chill out some?"

"I haven't seen him yet today, but I'll keep it in-" Candace stopped herself as she suddenly realized they were trying to stall her. "WILL YOU TWO STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT AND LET ME IN?"

"You sound awful cranky, Candace," Isabella said. "Why don't we go out for some lunch together? I'll bet you haven't had anything much to eat yet today."

"Will you tell me what you two are up to?" Candace asked.

"Only if you promise to calm down some," Isabella told her.

"Sure, whatever," Candace said begrudgingly. "I've been bossed around by Mother Nature for the past day so being bossed around by someone younger than me will just be the cherry on top of it all."

"I'll be right down," Isabella said cheerily. "Stacy, you come back up to my room and finish up. We don't have much more to do, right?"

"Just a few details, but yeah we're good," Stacy replied.

"Then that's that," Isabella said. "Oh, and one more thing ladies? Next time, let's just do this face to face. Using cell phones for this whole thing was just silly."

All three of them closed their cell phones and Stacy opened the door to the house the rest of the way, smiling sheepishly at Candace who continued to glare daggers at her. Isabella arrived moments later and ushered Candace towards her car while Stacy waved to them. As they drove off, she breathed a sigh of relief and headed back up to Isabella's room to hopefully finish the dresses with Jenny's help.

* * *

_3:30 PM_

Isabella was visibly impressed. Candace hadn't been hungry, she'd been downright ravenous. Two jumbo Slushy Dawgs, a large order of cheese fries and a jumbo vanilla Slushy shake later Candace was at least looking less grouchy and more energetic. Isabella munched on one of her own fries as Candace popped the top off of her shake to see if there was anything left to slurp up.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Isabella said as she ate.

"I'm not _hungry_ anymore," Candace said, correcting her. "I still feel horrible."

"You really shouldn't feel horrible. None of what happened is your fault, and it's not like it's going to stop you and Jeremy from getting married anyway."

"Isabella, you know exactly why I feel how I feel."

"I do. I know this is something you've been looking forward to and working towards for a long time. But all you have to do is be a little more patient and it'll happen anyway."

"I'm kind of tired being patient, you know? I exhausted a lot of patience over all those years when I was trying to bust my brothers for their stunts. I ran through even more my senior year of high school when I had next to no time with Jeremy because he was a freshman in college. Is it so wrong for me to want something, just one freakin' thing, to go right for me for once?"

Isabella could feel her will to maintain the charade fading in the face of Candace's utter despair. Fortunately, her cell phone rang giving her an opportunity to rally herself.

"Hello?" she said, flipping her phone open. "It is? You're done, really? Awesome!"

Candace sat and watched in both curiosity and confusion as Isabella then went through a series of phone calls as if she were checking on a number of things. The last phone call was the one that piqued her curiosity the most.

"Hey, it's me," Isabella said into her phone. "Everyone else is done. How about you guys? Uh huh. So could I bring her to see? Fantastic! See you in a bit!"

"Okay, what the blazes was that all about?" Candace asked after Isabella put her phone away.

"You're done eating, right?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"We need to go somewhere. Do you mind driving again?"

"Whatever. Where are we going this time?"

Isabella just smiled and giggled a little. "You'll see."

* * *

_4:02 PM_

Candace recognized the route Isabella had directed her along almost immediately. They were headed to the church she and Jeremy had been meant to be married at but that was now a crumbling ruin. She didn't know why they were going there now, but she had no will to do anything else. Going along with the whims of her brother's girlfriend was as good an idea to her as any.

As they approached, Candace noticed a group of people standing at the corner just down the street from the church. She recognized several of Phineas and Ferb's friends there, as well as Stacy and Jenny. She pulled to a stop alongside the road and got out to walk over to them. Isabella quickly joined the group as well.

"So what's the deal here?" Candace asked flatly. "Some kind of memorial to the church or something?"

"Oh we're just hanging out," Stacy told her. "But you should really head around the corner. Your brothers are waiting for you."

"This has something to do with what you were keeping from me earlier, doesn't it?" Candace asked with a sigh.

"Just go already, Candace," Stacy said, pushing her on her way.

Candace just shrugged and began walking. As she did she spotted her brothers lying on the lawn in front of the church. They both looked exhausted, but they picked themselves up as they heard her approaching. Candace was a breath away from asking them what was going on when she saw it. "Stunned" wasn't an appropriate enough word to describe her reaction.

The church had been perfectly restored, down to the last bit of mortar.

"Wha-…bu-…I…I don't understand…" Candace said, stammering as she tried to process what she was seeing.

"It was one of the trickiest builds we've ever done," Phineas told her. "But we managed to put it back together exactly as it was. And everyone else is pretty much done with their jobs as well."

"Other…jobs?" Candace asked. It was then that she became aware that the others had joined them in front of the church.

"It took me a full pot of coffee to wake up and stay awake," Stacy told her, "but with the help of Isabella's amazing sewing machine we re-created all the dresses, including yours. And I made sure everything was altered with them properly."

"Dinner preparation is all set," Gretchen added. "The chicken cordon bleu still needs to be cooked, but that won't be a thing."

"All the cupcakes are made and ready for tomorrow as well," Ginger said proudly. "Including the bigger one you wanted for you and Jeremy specially."

"The ice sculpture is all set and staying nice and cold," Django told her. "Though I'm still trying to thaw myself out now."

"And one last thing to check on," Ferb said as he dialed his cell phone. "Baljeet, shut it down. Time to see if we're good."

Moments later, the stop light just down the street blinked off for a split second before coming back to life. Phineas and Ferb high-fived as they saw that power had been properly restored.

"And that's that," Phineas said. "So, Candace…whadya think?"

Candace whirled around as she continued to fail to understand the situation. "I still don't get it…what's going on? Why did you do all this?" she asked.

"With so much that couldn't be fixed," Isabella told her, touching her arm gently, "we wanted to fix something that we could: your wedding."

"That is, if you still want to get married to Jeremy tomorrow," Phineas said jokingly.

"Phineas…Ferb…" Candace said their names as she turned to look at them again. She fell to her knees, tears welling in her eyes yet again but for a much different reason now. She felt her brothers hug her and she threw her arms around them as well, hugging them both fiercely as she thanked them over and over again. After several minutes, the boys helped her to her feet again.

"Now, why don't you call your beau?" Ferb suggested. "He doesn't know we did any of this after all."

"Oh really?" Candace asked, grinning madly. She quickly produced her phone, dialed Jeremy's number and waited for him to pick up. "Jeremy? Hey there, honey. Guess what? It. Is. ON!"

* * *

**Next Episode Preview:** Please see the section of my profile regarding this story for a special link to your preview for the next chapter.


	23. Beginnings and Endings

**Beginnings and Endings**

As often as unexplainable or even seemingly impossible things happened in Danville, it came as little surprise to most of the wedding guests that the church they were filing into had been completely and perfectly restored in less than a day. Indeed, most of the guests questioned if it had in fact ever actually been destroyed. Any questions in peoples' minds about the church, however, were simply not as important as the event that was about to take place within its walls. This was a long-anticipated wedding for those in both families who knew Candace and Jeremy.

One of the last major groups to arrive was a group of teenagers who were seated in a couple of rows towards the back of the bride's side of the church. Candace had felt that the least she could do as thanks to everyone who'd helped make her wedding actually happen was to invite them to the event and its festivities later. Even Irving had received an invitation, though he was far more interested in taking issue with what he deemed to be shoddy equipment being used by the wedding photographer.

The group didn't have much time to chat amongst themselves as organ music began to fill the church just minutes after they were seated. After a couple minutes of music there was a brief pause as Jeremy emerged from the right side of the church at the front. Behind him, in order, were his Best Man Coltrane and his three groomsmen: Andrew (who was the drummer from his band), Ferb, and finally Phineas.

The organ began playing once again. This time the familiar strains of "Trumpet Voluntary" filled the church. One by one the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle. Their dresses were royal blue and off-the-shoulder, and each carried a small bouquet of forget-me-nots. They were met halfway down the aisle by their respective groomsman. Suzie was first and was escorted to the front by Andrew. Next came Jenny, who was escorted by Ferb. Third was Isabella, who naturally was escorted by Phineas. Finally came Stacy, who met Coltrane halfway and allowed him to bring her to the front.

The music slowed and crescendoed as the gathered guests all rose to their feet and turned to face the back of the church. Candace emerged from the back with one arm laced through Lawrence's as he escorted her and her other holding a bouquet comprised of white orchids that hung down to her knees. Her dress was impeccable, and unless you were among the few who knew what had become of the first version of it, you'd never know it had only been made within the past twenty-four hours. A small, diaphanous veil covered her face and her red hair fell in cascades around her face and neck. She looked to be struggling to contain her emotions as she proceeded down the aisle to where Jeremy awaited her. Upon arriving, Lawrence shook Jeremy's hand firmly, hugged his daughter, and then allowed the happy couple to approach the pastor of the church. Lawrence joined Linda in her pew and put an arm around her as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

A hush fell over the church as the ceremony began in earnest. Blessings were given, vows made, and then came time for the rings. Jeremy checked his pockets and then looked at Coltrane panickedly. Coltrane merely shrugged at him. Ferb then stepped up with a smirk on his face and pointed up the aisle. Everyone looked and instantly broke into laughter. Perry - dressed with a bow tie around his neck and a pillow strapped to his back with both rings resting on it - waddled his way down the aisle and stopped in front of Jeremy. He uttered his trademark platypus noise as Jeremy patted him and took the rings, and then waddled over next to Phineas and Ferb.

With their rings exchanged the pastor gave them one last blessing. Jeremy lifted Candace's veil and the two shared a brief but loving kiss. They then turned to face the congregation with Candace now taking Jeremy's arm.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the pastor announced, "may I present the new Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Johnson."

A round of applause accompanied by several cheers greeted the happy couple as they began their recession from the altar, followed immediately by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. As much as everyone had been anticipating the wedding itself, all were thankful that it was over. Now the real fun could begin.

* * *

Ginger and Katie sat looking dreamily at the wedding party table which was clear on the other side of the reception hall from their table. They were totally enchanted by how perfect Candace and Jeremy looked together. They sighed contentedly as they watched the newlywed couple talk and laugh as the festivities continued all around them.

"That was quite a pleasant wedding, wasn't it?" Baljeet asked the two, hoping to at least rouse his own girlfriend from her trance-like state.

"Yeah," both girls replied in unison.

Baljeet frowned and decided to try again. "And the food turned out quite fantastic too, don't you agree?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Though it certainly would be nice to maybe get up and talk to some of our friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"…oh look, Phineas is setting himself on fire."

"Yeah."

Baljeet rolled his eyes and let his head fall to the table in front of him with a considerable "thunk". He would have to try again a bit later and with considerable more effort if he wanted to salvage any of his evening. He turned his head a bit and managed to at least get a chuckle out of watching Irving continue to criticize the wedding photographer. Free entertainment was the best kind.

Not too far away, Adyson was having a similar problem getting time with her boyfriend; however, her issue wasn't due to Django being distracted by the beauty of the event or its participants.

"This is truly one of the most stunning sets of ice sculptures I've ever seen," one of Jeremy's family members said to Django as they looked over his creations.

It was a sentiment that had been echoed dozens of times over the course of the afternoon by everyone who came over to inspect his work. Django had actually created a series of sculptures depicting Candace and Jeremy first as toddlers, then as young children walking towards each other, then as teenagers looking shyly at each other, and finally as their current selves embracing and looking at each other fondly. He had used photos provided by Phineas and Ferb to base his sculptures on and the finished products were, as he'd been told, uncannily similar to how the newlywed couple had looked while growing up.

Proud and happy as she was that Django's art was getting the attention it so rightfully deserved, he had been occupied for almost the entire reception so far with talking to people who wanted to know more about him and his art. For his part, Django wanted desperately to escape and be with his girlfriend, but he didn't want to possibly cause a scene at the reception. Fortune smiled, however, in the form of his cellphone ringing with a phone call. He quickly excused himself from the group of people who were still surrounding him and walked a ways away to answer it.

"Hello?" he said as he answered the call.

"Turn around," he heard Adyson tell him through the phone. Django quickly looked back over his shoulder and saw Adyson closing her own phone, smiling at him.

"You are brilliant, you know?" he told her with a laugh as he pocketed his phone.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she told him as she took his arm. "A few slow dances, on the other hand, will be plenty to make it up to me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get all-"

Adyson shushed him with a quick kiss and then took his hands in hers. "I know how important your art is to you," she told him. "And I never want to get in your way as you pursue your dreams."

"My dreams are worthless if I don't have someone there to share them with," he told her as he stroked her cheek gently. Adyson blushed a bit, but then hung her head as Django's comment reminded her about what was coming the next day.

"Listen," she said quietly. "About tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow happens tomorrow," Django told her, squeezing her hands in his. "Let's enjoy what we have today and let the future sort itself out when it gets here."

Adyson looked up and felt her spirits lift the moment she saw Django's smiling face. She smiled back and, with an excited nod, let Django lead her off into the party to seek out a few more memories to make before they had to part ways.

Over on the dance floor, a particularly energetic set of dance tunes wrapped up with a round of applause struck up. Ferb and Gretchen had basically taken over the dance floor and had put on quite a show for all those who gathered around. A slow song then began to play and as the floor repopulated with couples seeking a slow dance, the teenage couple took the opportunity to do the same.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to have you here, Gretchen," Ferb told her as they swayed slowly to the music. "To be honest, I was afraid tonight would be terribly boring since you originally weren't invited."

"You know you could always have just come over to see me after it was all over," Gretchen reminded him. "But I have to agree. This certainly is a much better way to spend the afternoon."

"It certainly beats doing anything in the backyard at the moment," Ferb said despondently.

"You're still pretty broken up over losing that tree, aren't you?" Gretchen asked, reading Ferb's expression and tone expertly.

"The tree was as much a part of our childhood as any of the things we invented or adventures we went on," Ferb said as he reminisced about it. "When Phineas first suggested we try to save it on the day of the tornado, it took every ounce of will I had to not agree with him. Now I can't help but wonder if I shouldn't have at least tried to help save it."

"I understand the sentiment, I really do," Gretchen said as she hugged him tightly to comfort him. "I still keep my old Fireside Girls uniform and sash in my closet. They're similarly important to me as they remind me of that part of my life. But as important as they are, I know that I have even better and more important reminders of those accomplishments and endeavors I undertook."

"You do?" Ferb asked, looking down at her in curiosity.

"Of course I do," Gretchen said as she looked around the reception hall at Isabella, Ginger, Adyson and Katie one by one. "And I get to see them every day, not when I decide to go digging through my closet. You have a similar reminder of those times as well, and you wake up in the same house as him every day."

"Yes, yes I do," Ferb said. He smiled and looked over at Phineas, who sat at the wedding party table with Isabella. He then turned his attention back to Gretchen and, as thanks for her kind words, shared a tender kiss with her as they continued their dance.

As the slow dance song came to an end, Candace approached the dance floor with a microphone in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. The people who had been dancing made way for her and a mob of women of a range of ages quickly formed nearby.

"Well it's that time, girls," Candace said into the microphone. She held up the bouquet and gave a knowing look to the mob of women, who were already pushing and nudging each other for a better position. Candace laughed and dropped her hand that was holding the bouquet to her side as she brought the microphone back up again.

"I have to be honest with you all, ladies," she told them. "I'm gonna break from tradition here a bit. I'm sure I'll hear all about this later, but I have a reason for this so bear with me."

Candace began pacing the dance floor a bit as she looked at the bouquet. "Tradition states that whoever catches this thing is supposed to be the next one to get married," she said as she walked. "Frankly I think that's a load of hooey, but I do appreciate what it's supposed to represent. It's the bride's wish for her happiness to be passed on to another lucky girl she knows. As much as I like all of you ladies who've gathered to try and catch this bouquet, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have one particular young lady in mind who I wanted to actually catch it. So rather than chance her not getting it, I figure I'll just make sure it happens."

Candace lowered the mic and walked straight over to the girl she had spoken about, smiled at her, and held the bouquet out towards her.

"Promise me you'll take good care of him," she said to the girl as she dropped the bouquet into her hands.

"I will, always," Isabella replied, clutching the bouquet closely to her.

Candace hugged Isabella and then quickly whispered, "I look forward to your guys' wedding someday, Izzie. You're going to be a great addition to the family."

Candace then turned back to the rest of the people at the reception, a mad grin creeping across her face. "Okay, people, enough mushy stuff," she said. "I want 'em to hear us over on the other side of town! Party on!"

Those present didn't need any more prompting than that and the party immediately resumed with great vigor. Isabella simply sat back at the table next to Phineas, still holding the bouquet. She smiled knowingly at him as he tugged nervously at his shirt collar a bit. Their day would come, of that she was absolutely certain now; but they would certainly have plenty of fun together along the way.

* * *

Hugs were shared all around as the newly united Johnson and Flynn-Fletcher families had gathered at the airport to see Candace and Jeremy off on their honeymoon the next morning. The two were flying to Miami, from where they'd be boarding a cruise ship for a weeklong cruise of the Caribbean. It was a trip that had come together fairly last-minute. In fact, Phineas had only learned at the reception the night before that the delivery he'd made to Mr. Davis in Las Vegas had in fact paid for the cruise. It was a point he now took a great deal of pride in.

"Remember, if anything goes wrong on the ship Ferb and I are only a phone call away," Phineas told Candace as he hugged her one last time.

"Phineas, I doubt the people running the ship will want me taking instructions from my brother over the phone to fix stuff if it actually comes to that," Candace told him.

"Oh you won't have to," Phineas replied. "We've perfected our phone transporter app, and it's specially got your phone's coordinated pre-programmed into it. We can be at your position at a moment's notice."

"Is that so?" Candace asked, looking at her phone. "In that case…"

Candace walked straight past Phineas and tossed her phone in the nearby trashcan. Phineas narrowed his eyes at her as she simply stuck her tongue out at him. He then went to the trashcan to retrieve her phone.

"You really have a total disrespect for technololgy, don't you?" he commented as he brushed the phone off.

"I am not taking any chances of you two just dropping in on us at any time during our honeymoon, thank you very much," she replied. "Seriously, we'll be fine. It's a cruise, Phineas. Fun is about the only thing you can do on one. I mean, what could go wrong?"

Ferb was about to begin listing possibilities, but was silenced by a piercing glare from Candace.

"You kids have fun out there, okay?" Linda told them one final time. The newlywed couple acknowledged her wish and, waving all along the way, headed down the hall and around a corner towards the security checkpoint.

"Well, I suppose all's well that ends well," Lawrence pronounced.

"Almost, dad," Phineas said. "Can Ferb and I meet you back at the car? There's one more pair of people we need to see off."

"Of course, honey," Linda told her son. "We'll see you back at the car in a few."

The two boys nodded and headed quickly off in a separate direction from their parents. It didn't take them long to find who they were looking for. Isabella and all of the other former Fireside Girls were gathered in a big group looking on as Adyson was saying her final goodbyes to Jenny and Django. Phineas and Ferb quickly and quietly joined Isabella so as not to disturb the couple that was about to be split up.

"We got here as quickly as we could," Ferb told Isabella quietly. "Candace and Jeremy took forever to actually get going."

"No big, Ferb," Isabella replied. "I'm sure Addie will appreciate having you guys here at least."

"How's she handling it so far?" Phineas asked.

"As well as can be expected," Katie told him. "But I wouldn't count on that lasting long after they actually leave."

"We'll be here for her, no matter what," Gretchen said resolutely. As the rest of the girls quietly echoed the sentiment, Adyson continued her talk with her boyfriend and his older sister.

"You sure you can get everything set up properly once you're back home?" Adyson asked Django, sounding a bit concerned.

"I may not be as technically inclined as Phineas and Ferb, but I'm pretty sure I can figure out how to set up a webcam and Skype," Django assured her. "And even if I do have problems, I know the guys are just a phone call away."

"I'll be looking forward to our first call," Adyson told him, managing a smile in spite of herself.

Jenny stepped up to her and gave her a big hug. "You've become quite the beam of sunlight in my little brother's life," she told her. "And your own aura has become spectacular since you two got together. What you two have is something truly special, Adyson. I hope you get the chance to come visit us sometime. California isn't as bad a place as Django makes it out to be."

"I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do Jenny," Adyson told her. "And thanks. I'm glad to know you approve of me."

"Even if I didn't, I would have no business getting in the way of such a perfect couple as you two," Jenny told her. She then turned to Django as she picked up her backpack. "Time to get going, bro."

Django nodded and took Adyson's hands in his, looking her in the eyes as he spoke. "This summer has been amazing for me, and I owe it all to you, Adyson. I promise you we can make this work. I'll do whatever it takes; on account of I love you too much to even contemplate failure."

"It's gonna be rough not having you here with me," Adyson told him. "But I'll get by. I've got the best support group in the world to back me up. And there's always the holidays, right?"

Django nodded and, after one final kiss that neither of them wanted to end, he slung his backpack over one shoulder, waved to everyone assembled, and followed his sister off towards security and to their awaiting flight home. Adyson stayed watching him walk away until he disappeared and then silently turned and walked back to the group avoiding eye contact with any of them as she joined them.

"We're all here for you, Addie," Isabella told her. "If you wanna talk or go do something or even just bawl your eyes out…we're all here."

"I think I'll be fine, Izzie," Adyson told her, still not looking at her. "Let's just get going. No point in dwelling on it."

Isabella nodded and the group began heading for the parking garage where Katie had parked the car they'd all arrived in. Not a single word was said for most of the walk back, which made it feel far longer than it actually was. Just as the car came into sight, the sound of a plane taking off caused Adyson to stop in her tracks. Everyone else quickly stopped as well and looked at her.

"Izzie?" Adyson said, her voice now quivering. "One of those options you mentioned…it was bawling my eyes out, right?"

"Yes it was," Isabella told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Adyson nodded to her and said, "Good…'cause I think I need to do that now."

Isabella hugged Adyson gently as she broke down into uncontrollable sobbing. One by one, the other girls each joined the hug, trying to lend some modicum of comfort to their brokenhearted sister. Phineas and Ferb hung back from the group and watched it for a moment before Ferb tugged on Phineas' sleeve and got him to walk on with him back towards their mother's station wagon.

"Adyson will be all right," Ferb told his brother. "Besides, there's not much we could say or do that would actually be of help to her right now."

"Yeah, you're right," Phineas conceded. "Let's be sure to check in with Izzie and Gretchen later, though."

"Absolutely."

"So we've got one more day of summer vacation left. Any ideas?"

Ferb sighed as his mind raced to recall everything they'd done. "This summer's been a bit of a blur," he told Phineas. "I think we could stand to slow down a bit for once."

"Do Nothing day, then?" Phineas asked.

"No, I do want to do something. Just perhaps something not all that ostentatious. Or perhaps even all that interesting, at least to others."

Phineas gave the parameters Ferb had presented extensive thought as they reached the car and as they rode along towards home. As soon as they pulled into their driveway at home, however, the idea came to Phineas. It was so simple yet so brilliant that he honestly didn't know how he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Hey Ferb," he said, looking at his brother. "I know what we're gonna do tomorrow."

* * *

**Epilogue Preview:** One last day of summer and Phineas and Ferb know exactly what they want to do with it.


	24. Epilogue: Worth Its Weight in Gold

**Worth Its Weight in Gold**

Isabella stretched her arms out over her head after stepping out the front door of her house. It was the last day of summer before school began again and she knew she'd have to be in top form for whatever Phineas and Ferb had in store for the day. In years past it had always been something truly spectacular and memorable, so she had no reason to believe it would disappoint. She was, thus, incredibly surprised to find the boys in the back yard of their house with a pair of shovels, a bag of plant food, and a sapling tree sitting between them.

"Uh, hey guys," she said in an uncertain tone. "Whatcha…doin'?"

"Oh, hi Isabella," Phineas said happily. "We're not doing much today actually. Just planting this tree."

"Is there anything special about the tree?" she asked.

"It's just a standard oak tree," Ferb told her.

"Is it gonna grow really tall really fast?" she asked.

"I doubt it," Phineas told her. "Trees do take many years to grow to great heights."

"Okay," she said slowly, trying to process the matter. "You guys didn't get hit with a Dull-And-Boring ray or anything today, did you?"

Phineas looked oddly at Ferb, who shrugged at his brother. He then looked back at Isabella. "I don't think so. We're just planting a tree today, that's all."

"It just seems so…understated for you guys, is all," Isabella said, now feeling a bit worried.

"Greetings and salutations, one and all!" Gretchen announced as she jogged into the backyard. "What amazing endeavor are we going to conclude this year's summer vacation with?"

"They're planting a tree," Isabella told her.

"…wait, what?" Gretchen asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"That's more or less my sentiments exactly," Isabella told her.

"Guys," Gretchen said, stepping closer to the two brothers. "Don't you think something's missing here?"

"Hmm…she does have a point, Ferb," Phineas said as he thought for a moment. Ferb then pointed down at two bottles of water that sat at his feet. "Oh, nevermind," Phineas added in relief. "I thought for a minute we forgot to bring water for drinking. We're good, I guess. Let's get digging!"

The two girls present could only stand dumbstruck and watch as their boyfriends set to digging in the ground to make a hole for the sapling to go into. They puzzled and wondered why Phineas and Ferb had chosen such a mundane activity for the day; not to mention their choice of such a mundane method by which to complete it. It was only when Gretchen finally noticed where in the yard the boys were digging did she realize what was actually going on. She nudged Isabella and pointed to the whole area around the boys. The ground was completely free of grass and was several feet away from the house. It was the very same spot the tree that had been so precious to the boys had previously occupied. Isabella just nodded to Gretchen once she understood and the two then approached the boys once again.

"I think I know what you're going to say already," Isabella said slowly, "but…Phineas, why are you guys planting a tree?"

"Our tree may be gone," Phineas told her while he worked, "but the memories we had with it will be with us forever. Still, it was something important to us, and I got to thinking…someday Candace and Jeremy are gonna have kids. Maybe Ferb'll have kids someday too. Maybe I'll even be a father myself. I'd want all those kids to have a tree to play around and under as well, and I figure by the time all that stuff happens this little sapling might be just big enough to be a part of those memories."

"Summer just isn't summer for a child without a tree to provide shade under which to relax," Ferb added as he also continued to dig.

"I think that's a beautiful sentiment, guys," Gretchen said. "Can we help out at all?"

"We appreciate the offer, Gretchen," Phineas told her, "but this is one thing we kinda wanna do ourselves."

"We understand," Isabella said, nodding at him. "Mind if we hang around anyway? There's not much else going on today."

"By all means," Ferb said as he hefted another shovelful of dirt out of the ground. "We do hate silence, after all."

"So what's everyone else up to today?" Phineas asked. "I'm kinda surprised only you two have shown up so far."

"Milly and Buford are spending the day at an amusement park," Isabella told him. "Milly's folks treated them to it after all the hard work they did helping people after the tornado."

"Sounds like a well-deserved day off," Phineas noted.

"Baljeet and Ginger are in full school prep mode," Gretchen said, continuing the run down. "They're holed up in Baljeet's house making sure they've got everything in order."

"Sounds like their idea of a good time," Ferb noted.

"Katie and Holly have a repeat performance of their recital pieces for a senior center today," Isabella said proudly. "They're both still kind of buzzing from the results of that recital too."

"Can't blame 'em, that was a pretty big deal for them both," Phineas said. "So I guess that leaves…"

"Adyson," Gretchen said, filling in the blank Phineas had left. Both boys stopped their shoveling as they turned to face their girlfriends.

"Is she doing any better from yesterday?" Ferb asked with true concern on his face.

"We treated her to ice cream and did our best to cheer her up," Isabella said, sounding uncertain about the effects of their efforts, "but it's clear that she really misses Django. I hope he manages to get back in touch with her soon."

"It really isn't fair that they had so little time together," Gretchen added. "But on the other hand, it's clear they really had a lot of fun this summer and got really close."

"I think the same goes for all of us for that matter," Phineas noted. "Not that any of our previous summers were boring, of course, but there was something really special about this year."

"Agreed," Ferb said with an agreeing nod. He then looked at Gretchen with a sly, knowing smile and added, "And I think I know why."

"You're showering and changing clothes before you touch me, baby," Gretchen told him with a wink.

"That goes double for you, Flynn," Isabella said directed at Phineas.

"Yes, ma'am," both boys said in unison, complete with salutes.

"You're right, though, Phineas," Gretchen said as she and Isabella sat on the grass to continue watching them work. "This summer has been full of fun and surprises."

"If you ask me, it's been a summer of love," Isabella added with a happy sigh.

"I like the sound of that," Ferb said, nodding at her. "Like Phineas said, it's been that sort of summer for everyone; a truly unforgettable time for us all."

"And every single moment's been worth its weight in gold," Phineas said. He paused after what he'd just said and got a blank look on his face as he looked over at Ferb, whose face had a similar expression.

"Ferb, did you just have a massive moment of déjà vu just now?" Phineas asked his brother.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Ferb said. "It's like I've heard that line you just said before somewhere."

"Go fig," Phineas said with a shrug as he picked his shovel up again. "Still, we should remember that line. It might make for a good lyric for a song sometime."

The boys returned to their work on earnest, striking up further conversation with their girlfriends about their plans for the afternoon and evening as they worked away under the warm sun of the last day of the summer of love.

* * *

Adyson chewed on her lower lip as she watched her computer screen nervously. Not even a minute earlier she'd received a text message prompting her to get to her computer and load up Skype. Now in the program, she waited anxiously and impatiently until finally the call came through. A quick click later and she was greeted by a different screen with two video panels on it. One was smaller and showed her as she looked on her webcam. The other was black for a moment and then came to life showing the face of who'd called her. She fought with her eyes to keep her tears at bay as she saw him.

"Hey there," Django said, waving to her with a smile.

"Hey," she said back faintly. "You sure know how to keep a girl waiting."

"I would've been on sooner if these two knuckleheads hadn't slowed me down," Django said, pointing to two teenage boys who walked into the view of his camera. "Addie, these are Martin and Vic. Guys, this is the girl. I told you she was real."

"Ah, so this is the one who stole my Django's heart away from me," Vic said melodramatically. "Though I can see I was no competition at all. She's as beautiful as you said she was, D."

"She got any sisters?" Martin asked. Vic and Django both looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What? I'm still strikin' out over here!" Martin said defensively.

Adyson couldn't help but laugh at their antics. "I'd accuse you of planning that exchange out, but I know you better than that Django."

"You'd better by now," Django told her. "I'd hope your memory wasn't so bad that you'd forget everything we did this summer."

"Trust me, baby," Adyson told him, a warm smile on her face as she settled in to enjoy her conversation with her boyfriend and his buddies. "This is one summer I will never ever forget."

* * *

_It's summer! Every single moment is worth its weight in gold!_

_Summer! It's like the world's best story and it's waiting to be told!_

_It's finding love and going places where we've never been!_

_It's summer, man where do we begin?_

_It's summer, man where do we begin?_

_**The End.**_


End file.
